With Groovin the Moo announcing its dates then cancelling, and Splendour in the Grass sadly doing the same, your plans for 2024 might be missing a few music festivals. News for the industry hasn't been great Down Under in recent years, especially in Australia this year. But Listen Out is aiming to buck the trend, locking in its return for spring, as well as its dates and venues — and all of the above for Listen In as well. "It's been a very tough time for the Australian music festival industry and we are thrilled to be back in 2024, welcoming returning and first-time attendees through the gates," said Listen Out's promoters, confirming that the event will get everyone dancing for the third time in the pandemic era after 2022 and 2023 runs. [caption id="attachment_957218" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jordan Munns[/caption] Last years' fest was Listen Out's most successful in terms of ticket sales ever, and the crew behind it are hoping to continue that trajectory. Something that might help: turning the fest into a 16-plus event, age-wise, which is a first for 2024. The festival's focus is staying true to its niche, filling its stages on electronic and hip hop artists — both international and local talents, too. The lineup hasn't been revealed as yet, but watch this space to see who follows in Skrillex, Four Tet, Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice and company's footsteps from 2023's bill. [caption id="attachment_957232" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Warr[/caption] This is Listen Out's 11th year, with four stops on the agenda: Caribbean Gardens in Melbourne, HBF Arena in Perth, RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane and Centennial Park in Sydney. Listen In, the condensed version of the fest with a smaller lineup, is headed to Go Media Stadium Mt Smart in Auckland, and also Ellis Park in Adelaide. [caption id="attachment_957226" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jordan Munns[/caption] Listen Out and Listen In 2024 Dates: Friday, September 27 — Listen Out Melbourne, Caribbean Gardens, Wurundjeri Land / Melbourne Saturday, September 28 — Listen Out Perth, HBF Arena, Mooro Country / Joondalup Sunday, September 29 — Listen In Adelaide, Ellis Park / Tampawardli (Park 24), Kaurna Country / Adelaide Friday, October 4 — Listen In Auckland, Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, Auckland / Te Ipu Kura A Maki Saturday, October 5 — Listen Out Brisbane, Brisbane Showgrounds, Meanjin / Brisbane Sunday, October 6 — Listen Out Sydney, Centennial Park, Gadigal Country [caption id="attachment_957230" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samm Venn[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957221" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sam Venn[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957224" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mitch Lowe[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957228" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna Warr[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957220" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sam Venn[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957225" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Zennieshia Butts[/caption] Listen Out and Listen In's 2024 season tours Australia and New Zealand in spring 2024. For more information, head to the festival website — and we'll update you when lineup details are announced. Top image: Mitch Lowe.
One of Australia's most redeeming qualities is its ability to give good afternoon sun. There's something about its familiar glow that almost demands casual drinks — whether it's cracking open a cold beer after a day out, heading to the pub after a long day of work, or deciding on a whim that your backyard is perfect for having friends over. When you have friends this summer, heed our advice and take it to the next level by implementing a killer theme. We've spoken to a few of our favourite chefs, musicians and artists, to get their insights on creating the perfect balmy afternoon. On this adventure we've spoken to Luke Lucas — uber talented, Sydney based typographer, creative director and co-creator of the now defunct Lifelounge magazine (may it rest in peace). Each issue of Lifelounge was themed, so we thought Luke was the perfect person to ask for some tips. Read these, and get creative the next time you have friends over. THEME COMES FIRST, IDEAS COME SECOND The first step in throwing a next-level summer party is choosing the theme. No exceptions. You'll probably have a million ideas, but they'll most likely be unrelated to each other. Having a theme is a great way to bring everything together in a cohesive format. You could be really into the idea of having a pinata in your backyard. Once you've decided that your party is going to be all about food, you can make it into the shape of a burger. "Coming up with the theme was the very first process we went through for each edition of the magazine," says Luke. "I think if you try to retrofit content to suit a theme then it can feel a little contrived or forced so for us the theme had to come first. For the most part curating content or designing within the bounds of a them gives you the ability to connect concepts and ideas that don't naturally go together but when presented within the theme are perfect partners. It can be lot of fun." IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING, CHANCES ARE OTHERS WON'T EITHER Everything in Lifelounge made it in because it was something Luke liked — not what he thought other people would like. "We were mostly creating the magazine for ourselves," he says. "It was a way of expressing thoughts and ideas about things we were passionate about. There wasn't a great deal of thought put into how appealing it might be to others." When you're thinking of a party theme, make sure it's something you're into. Don't go for a double denim theme just because you know your friends will like it. Pick something your passionated about — that could be a 90s theme. You're much more likely to get people hyped up. "I think if you are passionate about something then the way you present that passion is naturally infectious," Luke says wisely. DON'T COPY YOUR FRIENDS Trying to one-up your mates with a better 90s party than they threw last year isn't going to work. You won't be able to do anything new, and everyone's costumes or activities will most likely be the same as last year. Instead, use last year's raging party for inspiration. If they did 90s, shy away from decades and try for something else – a clothing related double denim theme for example. As Luke says, "there needs to be enough of a point of difference between themes so we can create unique content and design treatments for each edition." WHERE TO GET YOUR INSPIRATION "We're influenced by everything we see, hear, touch and experience. Inspiration can come from any combination of those sources but for me it rarely presents itself if I'm searching too hard for it. Ideas present themselves when my mind is clear or I'm doing some kind of activity that involves little thought — like taking a shower or waiting in between sets in the surf." In the words of Mad Men's Don Draper, "think about it deeply, then forget it. An idea will jump up in your face." Enjoy your summer afternoons with the new low-carb Heineken 3 — we're helping you make the most of them. Images: Luke Lucas.
Need to do refresh your spring or summer wardrobe? Online vintage treasure trove Hawkeye Vintage will let you into its covetable virtual closet with a huge sale on bags, clothing and accessories. Held over on its Instagram on September 11–12 and 18–19, it'll feature 1000s of items from the 70s to the 90s, including the likes of Chanel bags and Gucci scarves. The pieces on offer will run from the affordable right up to the super expensive, but all will be going at a reduced price. Given some of the brands on offer — including Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, YSL, Celine and Fendi — you'll be able to pick up some bargains, or opt for a few investment pieces. As the sale will be help on Instagram instead of in-store (unlike the brand's previous sales), the rules are a little different. There'll be no jostling over bags and boots at this one. You'll find all the nitty-gritty over on one of Hawkeye's Instagram Story highlights, but the short of it is this: when you see an item you like, DM sold with the item number and description, wait for a confirmation message and then you'll need to make a payment within 30 mins. There are a few different payment options available, too, including layby, and shipping is free across Australia. Hawkeye Vintage Marathon Live Designer Sale runs from 9am–5pm.
There's one day a year when we don't trust anything. No dramatic headline, no kindly bought cup of coffee, no suspiciously fine-looking chair. But here's one you can believe. After letting you catch Pokemon worldwide last year, Google Maps has unleashed its 2015 April Fools Day Easter egg — this time turning the whole world into a game of Pac-Man. Head over to Maps if you think we're pulling something. Click on the Pac-Man icon at the bottom left of the screen and wait for Google to check out your neighbourhood. After analysing the streets, your location will be deemed fit for play or you'll be prompted to find a new preprepared playground by clicking the ol' 'I'm Feeling Lucky'. Then tear your to-do list in half because you'll be chasing cherries and avoiding Blinky, Pinky, Inky (and Clyde) around your neighbourhood all day. On mobile, you'll have to play in designated areas — but you have to find 'em. There's a whole bunch of riddles at this Google support page to find hidden Pac-Man pins around the world (you can also track these down on your desktop). Now head on over to Google Maps and angle your computer screen away from your boss's office.
Melburnian Messina fiends, get ready to form a second queue. The monarchs of iced confection, Gelato Messina, are about to open a second Melbourne store in Richmond on May 27. Located on the corner of Swan and Green, the Richmond Messina will feature the Sydney-founded gelato chain's long-loved flavours like the ever-mindblowing salted caramel, alongside the usual flurry of puntastic weekly specials. Richmond's upcoming gelato hub joins the Messina ranks alongside the Fitzroy store, Sydney's flagship Darlinghurst store and subsequent Surry Hills, Bondi, Parramatta, Miranda, Rosebery and The Star casino spinoffs, as well as Queensland's first Messina at Coolangatta. Gelato Messina will open on the corner of Green and Swan Streets, Richmond on May 27. Join the queue at the Fitzroy store until then.
Longrain has still got it. After serving up contemporary Thai eats on Little Bourke Street for over 15 years, it really hasn't lost its shine. If anything, this beloved Thai restaurant has only risen up the ranks in the city's dining scene ever since Scott Picket (founder of Estelle, Matilda and Pastore) took over in late 2020. He didn't change much, keeping the same team in place and only tweaking small parts of the menu. Longrain's original formula always worked — it was Covid and leasing issues that led the original owners to step back from the business. These days, you'll still dine within the converted horse stables in the downstairs dining room and grab drinks upstairs in the huge bar, Longsong. [caption id="attachment_909618" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Squadrito[/caption] Food wise, big flavours and generous portions of classic Thai dishes (that have been given a slightly glammed-up twist) remain as well. The team isn't reinventing the wheel here. They're simply serving up some their favourite dishes from regions across Thailand. There is also a big focus on sharing. Grab a bunch of plates from the a la carte menu, setting yourselves up for a feast, or opt for the banquet option. For Longrain's banquet, you'll get roughly nine dishes (varying in size) for $89 per person. The menu changes relatively regularly, but you can expect the likes of fresh oysters in a roasted red chilli nahm jim, scallops with shrimp floss (served in a edible betel leaf) as well as bloody good caramelised pork belly. This bad boy has it all going on — being sweet, sticky, fatty, crunchy and tender all at the same time. [caption id="attachment_909617" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Squadrito[/caption] From the a la carte menu, the yum kao tod is also a standout. Crispy rice, pork mince, ginger, mint, coriander, chilli and peanuts are all mixed together in this flavour bomb of a dish. Scoop it all up with a salad leaf, squeeze on a generous amount of lime and make a proper mess of it all. We also highly recommend getting around the dessert tasting option. The team will deliver an assortment of five different sweet treats to the table on a big lazy susan. Spin it around the table with your mates, scooping up a few bites of each dish. It will always change, but you can expect some housemade sorbet and gelato (with Thai flavours) as well as a few more intricate desserts that'll certainly impress. Pair the whole experience with some great vinos that have been chosen to complement the vibrant Thai food and your set for a great night out. There is no official wine pairing, but the waiters will gladly recommend a few of their favourite drops by the glass so you can taste your way through the impressive offerings. While Melbourne's Longrain is a somewhat of a fine diner, you are encouraged to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. It does an excellent job of striking the balance between being fancy and refined while still being laidback and fun. [caption id="attachment_909619" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Squadrito[/caption] Top image: Eugene Hyland Appears in: The Best Thai Restaurants in Melbourne for 2023
For most people who grew up in Australia, primary school excursions left you thinking that Canberra was all about politicians and roundabouts. Years later, that concept couldn't be further from the truth. Over the past few years, Australia's capital city has had quite the food, drink and cultural revolution. Spend a weekend in Canberra and you can wander through breweries, eat at spectacular restaurants and cafes and stay the night at what we think is one of Australia's most beautiful accommodation spots. To ensure you go beyond the excursion favourites, Questacon and Parliament House, here's your guide to spending a weekend in Canberra as a food and wine loving adult. From pristine beaches and bountiful wine regions to alpine hideaways and bustling country towns, Australia has a wealth of places to explore at any time of year. We've partnered with Tourism Australia to help you plan your road trips, weekend detours and summer getaways so that when you're ready to hit the road you can Holiday Here This Year. Under current COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, there are restrictions on where you can go on holiday. Bookmark this for when you can explore once again. [caption id="attachment_750222" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Barrio via VisitCanberra[/caption] EAT AND DRINK After cruising up the Hume Highway, you'll want a refuel in the form of a damn good coffee. Get started at Highroad on the corner of Cape and Woolley streets. Run by boutique roastery Ona, this specialty coffee house serves a mean cup of joe as well as inventive cafe fare — think kimchi waffles with gochujang butter, prawn toast benedict and corn bread french toast. It also has a diverse selection of wines and craft beers from local and interstate breweries. Meanwhile, Barrio is a Braddon cafe dedicated to simple and high-quality coffee and food with a seasonal and local focus. It makes its own nut milk and, for breakfast, you can expect stroopwafels, marrow butter with fried egg and shallots on sourdough and rye with avocado and togorashi seasoning. When you're ready for a mid-morning treat, head to Braddon's Scandi-inspired Rye. It has brews from Sydney's specialty coffee roaster, Five Senses, and a lengthy food menu, with dishes such as dutch baby skillet pancakes for breakfast and a range of smørrebrød (Scandinavian open sandwiches) for lunch. Better yet, it serves breakfast cocktails, too. Then, get yourself to Silo Bakery and Cafe in Kingston. Collapse onto a wooden banquette before starting on the hard bit — making your choice from the massive array of freshly baked cakes and pastries in the cabinet. If you're vegan, get your sugar fix at Sweet Bones back in Braddon. [caption id="attachment_613859" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bar Rochford[/caption] While in Braddon, visit Bentspoke Brewing Co, a microbrewery and taphouse combining beer with bicycles — it works, trust us. More than 21 brews — from the much-loved Crankshaft IPA to How's It Gosen tropical gose — are on tap at any one time. For more Canberra craft beer goodness, make tracks to Capital Brewing Co. Situated within the city's new creative hotspot, the Dairy Road District, the expansive brewery and taproom is the first permanent home for Capital Brewing — who had previously been gypsy brewing across several sites in Sydney. And it has a taproom like no other, with a massive outdoor area, lawn games, a cubby house and Brodburger food truck. Come lunch or dinner, some of the tastiest Italian in the ACT is found at Italian & Sons. This fun-loving place champions old-school warmth and traditional regional cooking. Dig into duck and porcini gnocchi or take your pick from the simple pizza menu. Speaking of pizza, be sure to drop by Mama Dough pizza shop — this teeny-tiny venue slings incredible woodfired pizzas cooked in an impressive imported pizza oven. If you can't score a highly coveted seat, order a pie to take away. [caption id="attachment_751448" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rebel Rebel by Nathan Harradine-Hale[/caption] Craving a more upmarket feed? There's a bunch of hatted restaurants in Canberra, offering unique and refined fare. We suggest stopping by Aubergine, where head chef Ben Willis is lauded for his local produce-driven wonders. Make a long afternoon or evening of it and take your time over the seasonal tasting menu. Or, you could check out refined all-day diner Rebel Rebel, in the New Acton precinct, led by chef Sean McConnell — the corn and manchego croquette with prawn head aioli is a must-order. Later on, if you're looking to kick back in a small bar, try Amici on Northbourne Avenue. The deli-cum-wine bar has an excellent selection of vinos, plus cocktails, cheese, meats and hand-stretched pizzas. If you're keen for something a little more dark and mysterious, try Bar Rochford for a quiet glass of wine among the vinyl and pot plants, or Molly for a speakeasy atmosphere in a former bank vault lined with booths. [caption id="attachment_700170" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yayoi Kusama at NGA[/caption] DO No visit to Canberra is ever complete without a wander through the National Gallery of Australia's enormous space and epic works. There's always a temporary exhibition that draws crowds, such as the upcoming Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London. The permanent collections are equally worthy of a visit, with Yayoi Kusama's Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, James Turrell's Within Without Skyspace and Urs Fischer's candle sculpture, Francesco, all housed within the gallery's walls. [caption id="attachment_760510" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mount Ainslie via VisitCanberra[/caption] Once you've got your culture fix, it's time to get outside and stretch your legs. Check out Canberra's hilly surrounds by visiting a local lookout — Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain (home to the Telstra Tower) are among the most popular. If you're keen to beat the crowds, try Red Hill in the south or Mount Pleasant, where you'll find the grave of General Bridges — the only Aussie soldier who died in Gallipoli to have had his body returned to his homeland. You can find more walks to conquer around Canberra here. If you're in the mood to splash some cash, the Braddon precinct is packed with specialty stores, including the excellent one-two punch at 27 Lonsdale Street of boutique bottle-o Blackhearts and Sparrows and high-end ceramics label Bisonhome. [caption id="attachment_735917" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ovolo Nishi via VisitCanberra[/caption] STAY One of Canberra's most design-centric stays is Ovolo Nishi. The award-winning hotel is a self-described 'collaboration with designers, artists, artisans and fantasists'. Each and every one of the 68 rooms is unique and categorised according to feel: choose from Cosy, Snug, Original, Creative or Meandering. What they have in common is their references to the quintessential Aussie bush. Think clay walls, beds made of recycled oak, oversized rain showers, found objects and artworks. [caption id="attachment_763127" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Little National by Nathan Harradine-Hale[/caption] Another designer option is QT Canberra. This 205-room hotel hinges on the fun and unexpected, featuring tongue-in-cheek political references. Walking into the dark, marble-lined lobby, you'll notice famous world politicians portrayed in left-of-field, neon-lit portraits, as well as a TV screening major historic moments. Some rooms come with views and Lake Burley Griffin is just a stumble away, as is the well-stocked hotel bar. To stay in compact comfort with a sleek, New York-style aesthetic, book in at Little National. This conveniently located, 120-room hotel is fitted out with rich timber furnishings, has cracking city views and, quite uniquely, is situated on top of a car park, right next door to Parliament House. It has a 24-hour lounge and library with a roaring fireplace in winter, plus guests have access to a nearby gym, two day spas and a wellbeing centre. Whether you're planning to travel for a couple of nights or a couple of weeks, Holiday Here This Year and you'll be supporting Australian businesses while you explore the best of our country's diverse landscapes and attractions. Top image: Bentspoke Brewing via VisitCanberra.
Is anyone else feeling a bit funny about Uber lately? When we first met and became exclusive in 2012, things were great but lately… it feels like the honeymoon period is definitely over. What started as a passionate love affair — down with exploitative cab companies! Transport for the people by the people! Cheap rides home from the pub! — with a strong vein of are they/aren't they legal, has hit a few rocky patches. This week, Uber has announced a price cut of 15 percent, which is great for us as riders. But drivers have been quite vocal about that 15 percent coming straight out of their pockets. The price drop will see the price per kilometre drop to $1 and it's been less than a year since Uber dropped their prices by 15 percent in May 2015. Riding Uber is, save our souls for saying this, is starting to feel a bit like eating McDonalds. It's cheap, it's delicious, but you're very aware that somewhere down the production line, someone or something is being exploited. In this case, it's the drivers who are currently getting a pretty raw deal. As well as providing the infrastructure (in this case, a car less than nine years old) themselves, they also pay for their own gas, maintenance and expenses. Uber drivers in Melbourne are apparently threatening strike action, however this is made difficult because, as independent contractors, they have no union. Uber have stated they'll make a subsidy to Uber drivers until April 25 to cover their losses which comes in the form of a $30 per hour gross guarantee. Which is pretty good, that is, until April 25. Uber argues that the price will allow "driver-partners" to maximise their earning potential by enticing more customers over to Uber and thus generating more trips. It seems a little bit shady, however, when you factor in the cost of running a car around the clock. We'll see in the coming months if the new scheme actually benefits Uber drivers or if the spin is just that: spin. We've got out eye on you Uber, and don't think you can distract us with puppies and kitties and Messina (although you can certainly try). Via The Age. Image: Mark Warner.
Divided into two floors, this slim little eatery gets quite a workout every night of the week. Don't come expecting a quiet night out — you'll be severely disappointed. As with any popular spot, a short wait is standard at Samurai. Larger groups can squeeze into one of the upstairs rooms, while downstairs is designed for smaller parties or pairs. The waitstaff here are appropriately friendly and efficient, matching the no frills, buzzing vibe of the interior. Samurai provides consistently familiar Japanese fare and dessert. The menu flavours are simple but we guarantee the dinner box special will be pleasantly warming and hearty enough for everyone. Of the soup options, the humble miso is by far the most enjoyable. For entree, the classic gyoza are the common standout choice — or take the road less travelled and go for one of the more interesting bites like takoyaki (octopus balls). The relatively small menu ensures choosing mains is a simple matter, with the unpretentious chicken curry and udon varieties clear favourites among locals. We highly recommend copping the extra dollar to upgrade your drink to a green tea milkshake or two scoops of green tea ice cream. The flavour is rich and smooth enough for die-hard Japanese diners, but not too overpowering for those unfamiliar to the taste. Do note there is strictly no alcohol or BYO allowed in the venue — but with drinks like these, you won't have much time to lament the no booze policy. Lively and loud, Samurai is always packed full with hungry patrons looking for casual dining and reliable, humble Japanese classics. Image credit: Tristan Kenny via Flickr
Cat cafes around the world are about to get some prickly competition. Located in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district, a recently opened cafe lets customers get up close and personal with as many as 30 adorable hedgehogs. Named Harry after the Japanese word (harinezumi) for hedgehog, the cafe opened for business in February and has seen customers queuing up for the chance to play with its pint-sized residents. 1000 yen (AU$12) gets you 30 minutes of (extremely delicate) cuddle time, which goes up to 1300 yen on the weekend. The hedgehogs come in four varieties: "pied", "cinnamon", "salt n pepper" and "albino." Visitors who can't stand to be separated from their spiky new friends can even take home a baby hedgehog as a pet, with Harry's website featuring extensive (and adorable) instructions on hedgehog care. "We wanted to show people the charm of hedgehogs, which give the impression of being hard to handle," staff member Mizuki Murata told Reuters. "We wanted to get rid of that image by letting people touch them." Incidentally, when she's not working at the hedgehog cafe, Murata works in a bunny cafe in the same building and must basically be the happiest person on the face of the planet. Now, since you've been good and read this entire story, here's a picture of a tiny hedgehog in an even tinier bowl. You're welcome. Harry is located at Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-7-2 IWAHORI Building 2F Via Reuters/The Guardian.
After his 1800 Lasagne delivery service rocketed into our culinary consciousness during iso, Joey Kellock made good on his plans for a bricks-and-mortar follow-up, opening the doors to his new Thornbury bar and eatery in November 2020. The warm, Italian-style haunt is low on pretension and filled with charming carryovers from its past life as an old-school pizza joint. A softly lit front bar is all exposed brick arches, timber panelling and curved high-top tables, leading to an intimate dining room through the back and cosy, vine-covered courtyard. [caption id="attachment_795675" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joey[/caption] The food offering is short and sweet, kicking off with snacks like garlic bread and plates of salumi. Two of Kellock's legendary lasagne varieties have permanent spots on the menu — the beef and pork combo, and a vegetarian-friendly melanzane (eggplant) version — though you'll also find the odd special. Match your 1800 Lasagne feed with a ricotta, roast tomato and basil salad, or another option with cos, anchovy cream and grana. [caption id="attachment_795681" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 1800 Lasagne, by Parker Blain[/caption] The Italian vibe extends to the drinks offering, full of things to enjoy either with or without a hefty serve of lasagne in front of you. There's wine from the tap and the bottle, showcasing plenty of Italian varietals, alongside just a couple of beers — draught sours and lagers and bottles of Peroni. Balmy evenings might call for something from the five-strong spritz lineup, while cocktails run to the likes of an Americano, amaretto sour and classic martini. Images: Parker Blain Appears in: Where to Find the Best Pasta in Melbourne for 2023
What would you do if you were a little less freaked out by consequences? Would you talk to more new people, fear a bit less, dance a little more like FKA Twigs, quit your desk job and do that giant street artwork you've always wanted to give a red hot go? Some sparkling young Australians are already flinging their inhibitions into a ziplock bag and seizing this little ol' life with both hands. Concrete Playground has teamed up with the Jameson crew to give you a sneak peek into the lives of bold characters who took a big chance on themselves. They've gone out on a limb and rewritten their path, encapsulating 'Sine Metu', the Jameson family motto which translates to 'without fear' — getting outside your comfort zone and trying something new. After all, we only get one shot at this. Take notes. Sydney street artist and skateboarder Sid Tapia is no stranger to the concept of fear and overcoming it. In a career that started at age ten, he's hung out of train doors to tag them, skateboarded at a pro level and even founded his own label, Crown St. But it was in channelling a little 'Sine Metu' that Sid ultimately found his direction. You can read the interview over here. Want to experience a little bit of 'Sine Metu' yourself? Sid's being a total legend and helping us give away a personalised street art piece by Sid himself on a free wall somewhere in Sydney. You'll get a high-res photo taken with the work and we'll frame it and deliver it to your door, so you can see for yourself what happens when bold humans take big creative chances with big payoffs. Enter here to win.
Siglo is an old favourite amongst many a Melbourne city worker. It was once somewhat of a hidden gem, located up a narrow set of stairs on Spring Street — but the word is well and truly out these days. The rooftop bar gets packed with business folk after work on weekdays, with late-night drinkers also flocking here until close at 3am. Up here, it is all very European, from the old school Parisian-style chairs and tables topped with white linen to the food and drinks menu. During hot afternoons, the rooftop is full of spritz drinkers, and as the sun sets over Parliament House, the vermouth sipping, red wine swirling Melburnians take over — adding some small plates of charcuterie and olives to their luxe bar experience. High quality cigars are also on the menu at Siglo. Don't be surprised to see some smokers puffing Cohiba, Partagas, Upmann and Punch varieties, all the while nursing a peaty single malt or an XO Cognac. It is a boojie spot, but it doesn't have to be. You can easily pop up to this fab Melbourne rooftop for a few cheeky spritzes and then head out to other city spots for more drinking, dining and theatre watching. Nonetheless, a smart casual dress code is enforced at Siglo, so be sure to leave the thongs and bin tang singlets at home. [caption id="attachment_876886" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Hisco (Visit Victoria)[/caption] Appears in: The Best Bars in Melbourne for 2023
After a successful debut in Sydney last year, the Lunar Markets are making their way to Melbourne. The Docklands Harbour Esplanade will transform itself into a pop-up food festival of Asian cuisine for 11 nights from Thursday, February 4. Wander through over 20 food stalls, featuring Night Noodle Market regulars like Hoy Pinoy, Everybody Loves Ramen (selling their famous ramen fried chicken) and the always amazing Wonderbao. Black Star Pastry and N2 Extreme Gelato are teaming up to create the mighty 'Gong Xi Fai Cai Cake Smash': strawberry watermelon cake smash with fire crackers, and the 'Hipster Cookies and Cream': almond and pineapple gelato with almond sesame cookie. Paired with live music and roaming performers, this is the perfect Chinese New Year date. The Lunar Markets will run from February 4-14. They'll be open Monday to Wednesday 5-9pm, Thursday to Friday 5-10pm, Saturday 4-10pm and Sunday 4-9pm.
A members-only cafe? Really? You've got to be bloody joking. TRIPE. Nope, it's a Thing — London's opened its very first members-only cafe, SL28, a Holloway coffee shop at which you pay a monthly membership fee to hang out. But it's not as ridiculously shut-the-front-door as it sounds, it's actually a pretty great concept for co-working. Pioneered by and located inside the HQ of a British working environment specialist company called Net.Works., SL28 is indeed a members-only cafe. It's £10 (about $14) a month for full membership, with which you're both allowed in the space and able to order unlimited £5 batch brew coffees — they even give you three free cups a month (which kind of makes the membership fee a little less flabbergaster-inducing). There are baked goods from Aux Pains de Papy, as well as soups, sandwiches and teas, which you can take to fixed-desk spaces, couches and armchairs. If you're still scoffing and ready to whip up an angry social media storm, there's a pretty good intention behind the whole members-only schtick. Basically, the crew want to provide a space for freelancers and collaborative workers to be able to stay for hours on end, whittling away at their projects — without getting shamed for lingering too long. Freelancers, you feel this? If you've ever worked purely from your laptop, you've been shooed away from free wifi cafes after a few hours, death stared from the counter, asked to pay for more bevs or get out. So this is a pretty great alternative; it's almost like a hot desk set-up that happens to be a cafe. The best bit? You'll have company, like this genius Hoffice concept. Hooray for friends! Surrounded by co-freelancers, students, laptop-bound creatives and general coffee enthusiasts, SL28 members have the warm fuzzy advantage of having active minds around them — as opposed to your ever-tempting PS4, loudly mowing neighbours and indifferent axolotl. We'd pay cash money for that. Via Sprudge. Images: Net.Works.
Chandon's splendiferous estate, 40 kilometres of gloriously car-free rail trail and piles of valley-grown local produce — the Yarra Valley, one of Victoria's favourite wine regions, is only an hour west of Melbourne, but it could well be the Garden of Eden. And you can plan your stay any way you like. Find some posh lodgings with a fireplace and spa, dig in deeper than a wombat and get a bunch of local bottles delivered. Or, put your adventurer's foot forward and go exploring. There are enough cellar doors to keep James Halliday on his toes, lazy long lunches to be indulged in, rainforest-ringed waterfalls to sit by and spectacular lookouts to dream from. Together with our Victorian road trip partner RACV, we've put together a guide to a perfect weekend in the Yarra Valley and Healesville. And don't forget — if you're planning on having a drink, make sure there's a designated driver to keep you safe on your travels. [caption id="attachment_581983" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Chandon[/caption] EAT AND DRINK Wine is a very good place to start in the Yarra Valley. The hardest bit is deciding which wineries to give your time to. At one end are the big-names with whizz-bang cellar doors, like Chandon, where you'll learn the ins and outs of French champagne and try some drops that aren't sold anywhere else. At the other end are boutique operations, where the focus is on small batches and exotic varieties. One of the most interesting is Yarra Yering, founded in 1969 by an eccentric graduate with a PhD in plant physiology from Oxford University called Dr Bailey Carrodus. Meanwhile, at Serrat, husband-and-wife team Tom and Nadege Carson managed to create James Halliday's 2016 Wine of the Year (one of the estate's many accolades) from just three hectares. Also worth sampling is the Giant Steps range, sold via its pop-up cellar door [caption id="attachment_581988" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Supplied[/caption] A stumble down the road is Four Pillars Gin. Established in 2013 by mates Stuart Gregor, Matt Jones and Cameron MacKenzie, who were on a mission to put Aussie spirits on the map, this distillery is now a household name in both home and professional bars all over the country. At its recently renovated headquarters, you can have your own private tasting and try new experiments before they hit the shelves. For excellent country pub fare, slide into a wicker chair in the high-ceilinged dining room of the Healesville Hotel. During the week, casual, hearty meals are on the menu, but, come the weekend, fine dining takes over. For a more holistic dining experience, head to No. 7, a winery, cellar door, restaurant and event space that champions emerging winemakers and a series of progressive tasting menus to match the minimal-intervention wine list. [caption id="attachment_581989" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Adrian Patino[/caption] Want to create your own spread? Head to the Kitchen & Butcher, a charming deli where you can stock up on a range of produce sourced from local makers, including small-batch jams, relishes, pickles and preserves, granolas and spiced nuts all made on site. [caption id="attachment_581990" align="alignnone" width="1280"] TarraWarra Museum of Art.[/caption] DO Now that you're all loaded up with wine and cheese, let's get moving. Start easy with a wander through the TarraWarra Museum of Art. The permanent collection features works by Brett Whiteley, John Olsen and Albert Tucker, among others, while the temporary exhibitions bring names like Judy Watson and Pierre Huyghe to town. Also worth popping into is YAVA Gallery and Arts Hub, which provides a platform for local artists across a range of disciplines. If you're more interested in living things, swing by the Healesville Sanctuary. Here, you'll get to meet dingos, koalas and mountain pygmy possums (you'll want to take one home, be warned!). There's also a world-first interactive platypus show and a walk-through aviary, where you can hand-feed a parrot. [caption id="attachment_581991" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Martin Bull[/caption] Keen to get more active? You're in luck, because Healesville is a cycling mecca. Mountain bikers might know it as the starting point of the Bicentennial National Trail, which finishes 5330 kilometres later in Cooktown, Queensland. You don't have to go the whole way, of course — it's easy enough to make a day trip out of the first section. For road bikers, the classic ride is the Panton Gap climb. But an easier, traffic-free route is the 40-kilometre, Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail, which takes in rolling farmlands, stretches of forest and, most importantly, pubs, cafes and wineries. There are walks a-plenty, too. To see lyrebirds, get started at the Badger Weir Picnic Area just seven kilometres south of Healesville, where you'll find three easy, half-hour tracks. Another nearby option is the idyllic Maroondah Reservoir Park. Its short trails include the one-kilometre Lookout Track and 1.4-kilometre Henderson's Hill. [caption id="attachment_581998" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Mountview Estate[/caption] STAY For a truly luxe escape, check into Mountview Estate. The expansive property boasts sweeping views of the Yarra Valley, as well as a design that combines Balinese and Mediterranean aesthetics, not to mention one of the more impressive infinity pools you'll see anywhere in the state. Looking to woo your boo? Head to Myers Creek Cascades and cosy up in one of its secluded cottages. You'll find Myers Creek Cascades a few kilometres north of Healesville, encircled by lush, wild forest and singing cascades. The interiors are designed to merge seamlessly with their surroundings — think timber cathedral ceilings, low lighting, log fires and picture windows. If you're planning on going absolutely nowhere, this is the spot to choose. Also found just outside of town are Lyrebird Cottages. These stunning, free-standing one-bedders are made of mud brick and timber, and are set on ten acres of forest and landscaped gardens. The views over the Yarra Valley are panoramic — on a clear day, you can see all the way to Melbourne. [caption id="attachment_581996" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Airbnb[/caption] Or, a snug, old-fashioned stay is on offer at this revamped Miner's Cottage, listed on Airbnb. There's room for just two and you and your plus one will be cosying up in front of a log fire and kicking back in an outdoor spa, with Healesville only a short walk away. Travelling with a crew? You could try nabbing this charming three-bedroom farmhouse which sleeps up to six and is set on 13 acres of garden, farmland and orchards. Just don't get into fights over space in front of the fireplace or who scores the first soak in the spa bath. Road tripping this summer? Make sure you're covered with RACV. Top image: Sergio Sergio (Flicker)
The StandardX's Thai restaurant BANG is running one of Melbourne's top happy hours this summer, enticing diners to try out the relatively new Fitzroy diner. Drop by from 5–7pm from Monday–Friday and you can score two-for-one Melbourne Bitter longnecks, pairing them with as many $1 homemade dumplings as you like. This is a banger of a deal — excuse the pun. Not a beer fan? Worry not, the crew is also slinging $12 cans of prosecco that pair alright with a table full of cheap dumplings. A weekend afternoon hang more your vibe? Pop over from 11am–3pm on Saturday or Sunday to try its weekend brunch with live DJs. There aren't any discounts for this one — just great Thai eats and party vibes.
Once every year, a different kind of festival is held in Brisbane — one that doesn't market itself on glow sticks, or ironic henna, or even prolific recreational drug use. It's a festival more for the artists, their scene and the Australian industry itself: Bigsound. Over three days in September, an eclectic collection of musicians is given their shot to play not just some of Brisbane's best venues for some of its best crowds, but also for industry professionals, booking agents, and labels; the big-wig types that usually hang out exclusively in Sydney and Melbourne and are always searching for that 'new sound'. For the somewhat isolated arts scene of Queensland, Bigsound is the annual chance of a lifetime, and acts as a cross-section of Australia's up and coming. Although criticised in recent years for pushing a lineup that includes already represented and well established performers, Bigsound's 2016 bunch still has a few untapped talents and diamonds in the rough. Here are five new artists playing Bigsound this year, not to be missed if you want to claim 'knew-them-before-they-were-cool' bragging rights in years to come. MOSQUITO COAST Last year's triple j Unearthed High winners, Mosquito Coast are riding the Australian airwaves to 'household name' status, but given they are both only 18 years of age, they definitely warrant the title of a 'new' band. Playing music so beach-inspired its practically sunburnt, this duo is nothing if not very, very chill. Breezy guitar lines, hard to forget lyrics, friendly drums — everything you'd want on the radio on a day it's too hot to think. Their main track 'Call My Name' hit #101 on triple j's Hottest 100 this year, and if they keep doing what they are doing, they're guaranteed to sneak into Australia's biggest music pedestal next year. Oh Hello! on September 7. BEC SANDRIDGE Listening to Sydney's Bec Sandridge, it's hard to imagine that anyone else playing Bigsound will bring the same charm to the stage. To call this about-to-explode artist a 'girl-popper' is unfair — would you call Anna Calvi the same? Sure, Sandridge's got pop influences, and that makes it so fun. Her music's intrinsically complex and simultaneously easy to dance to. And on top of it all, Sandridge has a set of pipes you could shamelessly compare to Blondie, Nick Cave, Kate Bush, or maybe even Bjork. The Foundry, September 7. GOOD BOY Good Boy are Brisbane boys, and boy, are they good. Doing the whole dolewave thing, this trio unabashedly sing about living hard, below the poverty line, in the northern suburbs. With King Krule-like guitar lines, over Dick Diver-like lyrics, with a bit of that regional Queensland anger and edge to them, the boys know what they're all about. They've only been bumming darbs and singing about it for a year now, but they've already played Laneway Festival, and are looking at being the canonical band for 2016 Brisbane. Who knows, maybe it'll be the start of their career as Brisbane's next Go-Betweens? Oh Hello!, September 8. PRATEEK KUHAD Prateek Kuhad isn't exactly a fresh face — he's played SXSW, opened for Alt-J on tour, and has been a showcased musician not just in his home of India, but abroad. Despite all this, he's a fresh face for Brisbane. His minimalistic folk, and his punchy, almost quirky lyrics, give his songs a cinematic quality — he wouldn't be amiss juxtaposing a wide-shot for Wes Anderson film, for example. His music, be it his minimalistic combination of guitar and vocals, or his somewhat wider pieces — mandolin, tambourine — are all alike in their joyous momentum. September 7, Empire Hotel. MIDDLE KIDS Middle Kids (emphasis on kids, these guys have only been around since late February) are a Sydney trio- all about the music- tight harmonies and chill times. Dropping their EP Edge of Town, a distorted harmony of fragile vocals, steel guitar, and abyss inspired timbres, these kids might be young, but they are being seen and heard all over Australia. Playing Oh Hello! on 8 September, Middle Kids, have a good thing going-it's lo-fi, but it's kinda popping, with a little bit of folk, maybe an aftertaste of punk, there's something in their simple songs for everyone. Bigsound runs September 7-9 across multiple Brisbane venues. Find the whole Bigsound program on their website.
Is there anything better than a spontaneous weekend away? In Melbourne it's almost compulsory to spend your days exploring laneways and cafes, and then dolling up and taking in a show, before settling down for a cosy drink in an award-winning cocktail bar. There is a rich and exciting food, drink, and entertainment culture in Melbourne just begging to be explored. Book yourself a room at Pullman Albert Park (it's right next to a tram stop and just outside of the city) and relax - we've partnered with Pullman Hotels and Resorts and have the next 48 hours all planned out for you. [caption id="attachment_587822" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Higher Ground via Instagram.[/caption] SATURDAY You arrived late last night, checked in and slept like a lamb. Now you're awake, and you're ravenous. Head directly into the city to Higher Ground, a delightfully luxe breakfast/brunch/lunch spot and home to some of the best nosh kicking around Melbourne's CBD right now. Break your fast with glorious twists on old favourites like bircher with quinoa and seed with fresh and dried apple, house made almond yoghurt and rosella hibiscus; or opt for something hearty with roasted and pickled seasonal mushrooms atop of creamy bed of soft polenta served with hazelnut, thyme and sourdough crumble. [caption id="attachment_587815" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The Town Mouse. Image: @thetownmouse via Instagram.[/caption] Walk breakfast off with a walk. Stroll past the glorious terraces and beautifully manicured gardens in Carlton, until you reach what is arguably one of the prettiest streets in Melbourne, Drummond Street, where lunch at The Town Mouse awaits. This menu demands sharing, so why not kick off with some creamy oysters and beef tartare before enjoying a spread of confit beef neck with a side of shimeji mushroom and roast cauliflower. [caption id="attachment_587818" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Magic Mountain Saloon. Image: @magicmountainsaloom via Instagram.[/caption] Hop on the tram and scoot back into town, perhaps spending an indulgent few hours boutique-hopping at Emporium. Grab an early dinner at Magic Mountain Saloon where the Thai-American BBQ themed menu dances effortlessly between daring and delicious. They also have the kind of cocktail list where you could order by closing your eyes, jabbing a finger at random and still be assured of a great choice. Savour the cozy vibes of this tri-level venue from a booth before moseying on over to the MCG for a post dinner match. SUNDAY Good morning! What's that you say? You feel like black tea-cured salmon with green tea and edamame puree and pickled red cabbage, all lovingly piled atop a fluffy crumpet for breakfast? Well hop over to Krimper. They've got you covered. Tucked away down Guildford Lane in Melbourne's CBD you'll feel right at home, provided that your home is an inviting and cosy converted warehouse space with exposed brick walls and tasteful decor. Take a relaxed amble around the historic Block Arcade, a 19th century covered shopping arcade, and explore the stores. Why not make some entirely frivolous but entirely justifiable purchases at spice vendors extraordinaire, Gewürtzhaus? You can never have too much vintage merlot salt in your life, amirite? When hunger strikes again (which it invariably will - shopping is a workout) stride on down to Sun Moth Canteen for a refreshing glass of wine and a nibble on some snacks to tide you over until later. For dinner tonight there's really no better option than one of the most formidable cocktail names in the biz, Eau De Vie. Originally a Sydney stalwart, this venue has been pumping out simply gorgeous drinks for a couple of years now, and they only seem to get better and better. Grab a selection of nibbles like their charcuterie meats, including paletilla iberico de bellota and salsichon, and pull up a seat to watch the bartenders do their thing. Pair your snacks with a knockout cocktail like a Zacapa Blazer and let the hours ooze by as you work your way through their impressive back bar. Melbourne has so much to offer that you'll doubtless be planning your next trip before this one is even over. Pullman Hotels and Resorts make a great base to explore Melbourne for a weekend. Top Image: Higher Ground.
2022 isn't even five months in yet, but the year's slate of festivals is already shaping up to be a winner. We've just danced our way through all the summer fests, of course, and welcomely so. But there's plenty more where they came from across the rest of the year — including the long-awaited return of Listen Out in September and October. Fuzzy's national electronic-meets-hip hop festival will make a huge comeback for its first gigs since 2019 — for obvious reasons, as we all know and have lived through for the past couple of years. And, it's marking its return with a hefty lineup led by Young Thug, Polo G, Disclosure and The Jungle Giants, as well as everyone from BARKAA and Electric Fields to BBNO$ and Tove Lo. Listen Out tours nationally to four of Australia's capitals, kicking off on September 23 and hitting Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane over two weekends. Also hitting the road, albeit just with one stop: Listen In, a condensed version of the fest with a smaller lineup that'll solely play Adelaide. Whichever iteration is coming to your city, add Listen Out and Listen In to your ever-growing 2022 festival calendar, with Splendour in the Grass and Spilt Milk also among the big-name fests finally set to return in the coming months. LISTEN OUT 2022 DATES: Friday, September 23 at Catani Gardens, St Kilda, Melbourne Sunday, September 25 at Western Parklands, HBF Arena, Joondalup, Perth Saturday, October 1 at Centennial Park, Sydney Sunday, October 2 at Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane LISTEN OUT 2022 LINEUP: 24kGOLDN AJ Tracey Anti Up [presented by Chris Lake and Chris Lorenzo] BARKAA BBNO$ Blanke Bru-C Central Cee Culture Shock Dameeeela Disclosure Doechii Electric Fields James Hype The Jungle Giants Kito Louis The Child LP Giobbi Meduza Memphis LK Miiesha Nia Archives Pirra Polo G Pretty Girl Qrion Stace Cadet and KLP Tove Lo Young Thug LISTEN IN 2022 DATES: Monday, October 3 at Ellis Park, Adelaide LISTEN IN 2022 LINEUP: Adelaide: 24kGOLDN BARKAA BBNO$ Bru-C Central Cee Chris Lake Culture Shock Disclosure James Hype Kito Louis The Child LP Giobbi Meduza Polo G Stace Cadet and KLP Young Thug NZ: TBC Listen Out and Listen In's 2022 season tours Australia in September and October 2022. For more information, or to buy tickets from 12/1pm (times vary depending on the city) on Wednesday, April 27, head to the festival website.
Swipe right to find your perfect match – and no, we're not talking about the pit of despair and poor decision making that is Tinder (who are we kidding, we're on there too). This is Tender, which as you can tell from the cleverly substituted vowel is a totally different thing. Like its namesake, this newly launched app shows users a photograph and lets them swipe right or left to indicate whether they like what they see. But unlike Tinder, this isn't about looking for a casual hook-up. This is about serious, long-term relationships. With food. Developed by a group of college roommates now working in Boston, Tender is available in both the Apple App Store and on Google Play, and works on the same basic principals as Tinder – only with recipes instead of people. Users can tap on a food pic to get a list of ingredients and a link to the full recipe, which is then saved to the cookbook section of your app if you decide to swipe right. The recipes come from food blogs all over the internet, and you can filter them by different categories, such as vegetarian, vegan, seafood, dessert and so on. They're also planning on adding an allergy filter and an undo button for people who regret swiping left. You've got to hand it to them: in terms of capturing the zeitgeist, this feels pretty on the money. Basically they've combined food porn with snap judging things based purely on their appearance, which, as millennials, are basically our two favourite pastimes. Plus a lot of the recipes actually look really delicious – although if Tinder has taught us anything, it's that what you get in real life rarely lives up to the pics. It seems like Tender won't be entirely free of these kinds of issues either. Suuure you're a barbecue turkey meatloaf. Honestly, who is this pile of capsicums trying to fool? Looks like Tender still has a few bugs to sort out. Still, we're pretty excited to give it a try. At least here we won't have to worry about matching with an awesome looking spicy coconut risotto only for it to turn out to just be a bot spamming your account with links to a website featuring lots of 'sizzling hot Asian dishes'. And unlike real people, chocolate cake will never swipe you left. Top Image via Dollar Photo Club.
Want to pick up a casual Neil Perry lunch without forking out an Eleven Bridge restaurant bill? Australia's renowned restaurateur, chef, TV presenter and all-round multitasker has just launched his own menu for Japanese-inspired eatery Saké Jr. Perry is working his magic across Saké Jr's Sydney and Melbourne venues, bringing his passion for sustainably sourced, fresh, local produce to each of his carefully curated dishes. "As with all our endeavours, we are community and sustainability minded," he says. "Our ethos is simple: source responsibly, act respectfully, cook beautifully, live well." New lunchtime items include on-trend poke bowls and grab and go protein salads, with various meat, seafood or vegetarian staples featuring accompaniments like pickled bamboo, edamame and soy and mirin dressing. You can mix and match, so the endless options are bound to revolutionise your once-boring lunch hour. Come 4pm, Jr by Night kicks into gear at Sydney's Grosvenor Place and Bourke Street in Melbourne. Perry will be offering up creative takes on Tokyo street food favourites, like Japanese fried chicken (JFC) with the choice of chilli oil, gochujang or sesame yuzu sauce. Alternatively, build your own ramen bowl or bao bun and wash it all down with a house-brewed iced tea or a cheeky glass or two of saké. Whatever your selection, you can expect each mouthful to reflect Perry's meticulous attention to detail. Find Sake Jr at Grosvenor Place, 255 George Street and inside Westfield Pitt Street in Sydney, and at 555 Bourke Street and St Collins Lane in Melbourne.
The co-founder of Sydney’s The Barber Shop is taking his whizz-bang bar-creating talents to Byron Bay. As of this summer, the north coast’s busiest hang-out will have a brand new drinking and feasting establishment, The Bolt Hole, thanks to one Mr Chris Mills. But there won’t be a tap or a beer bottle in sight. Instead, the bar’s craft beer offerings will be delivered in classic Aussie fashion — via tinnie only. Why? Well, to start, Chris sees tinnies as far more environmentally friendly than bottles. As for taps, the avoidance is more about aesthetics than being green. As anyone who's frequented The Barber Shop knows, Chris likes to keep his bar sleek and uncluttered. “Bottles have six times the carbon footprint of a can, when you consider volume, weight, production and transport — all those things add up,” says Chris. “We can fit 100 cartons of tinnies on a standard palette, versus 65 cartons of 330ml bottles, so it takes a lot less fuel to transport them.” Aluminium is lighter than glass, while a can’s tidy shape means more efficient packing and stacking. Second up, Chris points out that tinnies make beer taste better. “Canning is better because bottling lets in UV light, which affects the taste of the beer," he says. UV has a habit of breaking down the organic compounds that give a beer its unique flavour profile. Even though using brown-tinted glass can help reduce the damage, it’s no substitute for the light-impervious fortress that is an aluminium can. And thirdly, Chris adds, "Bottles let in more oxygen, which shortens the beer’s shelf life.” Then, of course, there's the can's total lack of smash-ability. As far as we know, The Bolt Hole will be the first bar in Australia to serve cans exclusively. But, more generally, the humble tinnie has been making a comeback — both here and in the US. Once the domain of drops like Tooheys and VB, it’s now being embraced by craft beer labels all over the world, including locals like Sydney’s Young Henrys and Melbourne’s Mountain Goat. This resurgence is in least part due to cans' lower carbon footprint, awareness of which has been growing for a while. Not everyone's on board though. David Suzuki's Queen of Green blog, for example, argues that beers shipped over long distances are better in tinnies, but when it comes to locally made brews, bottles win out, while others are pushing for all tap, all the time. With the Bolt Hole’s opening six weeks off, we can’t yet reveal exactly which craft beers will make the menu. But we can tell you that Chris has been chatting with some of Australia’s most talented operators. In addition to a stack of tasty brews, the drinks list, designed by Jason Crawley (The Drink Cabinet), will offer signature cocktails, vintage gins, artisanal spirits, boutique Australian and European wines, plus a whisky list to incite Dylan Thomas’s envy. Meanwhile, Jordan (Beans) Brannan (former sous chef at Bondi’s Panama House) will be producing dishes to match. A student of globe-trotting pit master Pete Daversa (London’s The Big Easy, New York City’s Pride and Joy, Hong Kong’s Blue Smoke), Jordan will be smoking up an American barbecue storm on a specially imported woodfired smoker, all the way from the US of A. He’ll be delivering a stateside culinary tour for carnivores, with grass-fed Angus brisket, Texas beef short ribs, Memphis BBQ pork ribs, Carolina pulled pork shoulder and maple glazed chicken. The American theme will continue in the fit-out, which is promising a dimly lit refuge from Byron Bay’s sun-dazed, crowded streets. Entering via a vintage church door, visitors will find themselves in a cosy, vintage haven, with references to hunting, steam trains and nautical escapades. There'll be green Chesterfields, handmade furniture, antique light fittings and a tarnished copper bar, supported by recycled railway sleepers. Tinnie image: Dollar Photo Club. Other images provided.
Dodge laser trip wires. Hack computers. Crack the safe and go home with the gold. Pop Up Playground's newest immersive game, Small Time Criminals, takes you into every old school cops and robbers movie ever made. With the slogan "one last job before going straight", the game will be a dream come true for fans of Ocean's Eleven, The Pink Panther, Heat and The Score. The newly opened immersive simulation gives guests the run of a two-story building in Preston where they will find themselves in the throes of a 'real live' bank heist. You'll have the option to play as a team of master thieves or as detectives hot on their trail, though we find it hard to believe anyone will choose the latter. How often do you get to rob a bank without the inevitable consequence of Al Pacino hunting you down? Australian-based live games company Pop-Up Playground has been knocking out these types of genius concepts since 2011, with clients across Melbourne, New York, the UK and Copenhagen. They've worked with the likes of the Freeplay independent games festival and NY's Come Out and Play, so you can bet this one will be worth the pretty penny. Immersive theatre has continued to become increasingly popular across Australia — from The Hungry Ghost Walk app to Sydney's The Age of Entitlement, last year's Blackmarket performance around Kings Cross to an immersive Halloween Feast, we can't seem to get enough of the action. As far as Small Time Criminals goes, the day will combine live performers, digital puzzles and environmental challenges to keep players thoroughly in the game. From embezzlement to love affairs and murder, this immersion will make you feel as dangerous as it gets — as long as you don't get caught. Small Time Criminals will run at The Bank Immersive Theatre located at 641 Plenty Rd, Preston. Bookings are available from Thursdays to Sundays.
Southbank's busy bar scene just got a little more crowded. Opening this week in the Southgate precinct, Waterslide Bar has put together a first-class selection of boozy beverages. Just don’t get your hopes up: despite the name, they don't actually have a waterslide. Or at least they haven't for about 100 years. As it happens, the name Waterslide is actually a hat-tip to Melbourne's early twentieth century history. Long before Southgate and Crown Casino, the south of the Yarra was home to an outdoor amusement park, complete with toboggan rides, a Japanese teahouse and a yes, a waterslide. Unfortunately the park only lasted a few years — turns out Melbourne's winter weather wasn't any better back in the day. Lack of aquatic fun times notwithstanding, Waterslide Bar does look pretty promising. Bar manager Tim Wastell (previously of The Blue Diamond in the CBD, The Saint in St Kilda and Rockpool Bar in Perth) has teamed up with Fred Siggins (Black Pearl in Fitzroy) on a historically themed cocktail menu. The Grace Kelly (gin, fresh pressed pear juice, Earl Grey, honey, cinnamon syrup and dehydrated apple) pays tribute to Hollywood's quintessential leading lady, while The Cure (vodka, blueberry, balsamic syrup and ginger) promises to relieve all common afflictions "including dolefulness, scurvy and turgidity." The food menu, while not quite as well-stocked, still offers plenty of great choices, including twice-cooked pork belly skewers with plum sauce, mini soft shell crab po'boys with zucchini pickles, and Mediterranean style pickled and marinated octopus with feta. Waterslide Bar can be found in Shop MR3 Mid Level East End in the Southgate Centre, Southbank. They're open 4pm – 2am, seven days a week.
It's been nearly a year since we first got word that Chin Chin's Chris Lucas would be opening a three-storey Japanese restaurant on Flinders Lane, and several months since we learnt that he'd recruited Korean chef K. S. Moon. Now, with just a few days left until service begins, the Lucas Group has finally revealed what diners can expect from their latest venture — and from the looks of things, it'll be well worth the wait. Located on Flinders Lane just across the street from Supernormal, Kisumé will open for the first time on Monday, May 15. There's a lot going on, but here's the configuration. The restaurant will take over the entire basement level, while a sushi bar will occupy ground floor with a different menu. The second storey — dubbed Kuro Kisumé — is where things get a little more intimate. This floor features a Chablis bar that heroes the so-named Chardonnay from northwest Burgundy alongside the Kisumé Winewall (which they've apparently trademarked) — it has four separate glass cabinets devoted to Chablis, Pinot Noir, Riesling and a mix of sake and Japanese whisky. From mid-June Kuro Kisumé will also play host to The Table, an omakase-style dining experience that can accommodate just a dozen people at a time, and a pair of private dining rooms fitted with artworks from Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and Australia's Polly Borland.. Inspired by classic Japanese design, the interior of the restaurant is minimalist in nature, featuring timber flooring, grey leather and matte brass complemented by dusty pink curtains. But what about the food? Standout dishes on the Kisumé menu include steamed king crab gyoza with quail egg and bonito vinaigrette, crispy wagyu truffles with miso and mozzarella, foie gras and beef tenderloin with yakiniku soy, and seared yellowfin tuna tataki with wasabi tofu and chilli yuzu ponzu. The sushi bar also promises an array of specialty rolls and sashimi, such as Alaskan king crab with spring onion, flying fish roe and soy paper. The restaurant (basement): The sushi bar (ground floor): The Chablis bar (level one): The table (level one): The Winewall (level one): Kisumé is located at 175 Flinders Lane, Melbourne and will open for dinner only from Monday, May 15. From Monday, May 22 onwards, they will be open from 11am until late, seven days a week. For more information or to book a table, visit kisume.com.au.
One of the most important donations in years for Australia's contemporary art scene, a millionaire Melbourne property developer has endowed Melbourne University with a $26 million gift of his epic private collection — and a place to exhibit them all. The Michael Buxton Centre of Contemporary Art (or the rather awkward sounding MBCOCA) is a brand new, purpose-built museum set to open in 2017 at the University of Melbourne's Southbank campus. An entrepreneurial developer with a keen interest in contemporary art, Buxton has collected more than 300 works in a variety of media over 30 years. "Our acquisition policy has… focused squarely on supporting living artists and working alongside them to foster and support their careers," he told ArtsHub. The collection provides valuable insight into the stylistic development of the 53 artists it includes; from the paintings of Howard Arkley and Mike Parr, to the photography of Tracey Moffatt and Bill Henson as well as the sculpture and installation work of Ricky Swallow and Patricia Piccinini, among others. By donating such a showstopper collection to an institution like the University of Melbourne, Buxton hopes to ensure its longevity. The new museum will serve as a major resource for students as well as the public in general. "We are educating future generations of students and serving as a resource for all Australians aspiring to understand or collect challenging contemporary art," he told The Australian. Plus, building the new museum opposite the National Gallery of Victoria and next to the Victorian College of the Arts will well and truly cement Southbank's reputation as the city's premier arts precinct. The Buxton family will remain involved, providing funds for the museum's construction and maintenance over the next 20 years. New works will also continue to be collected, ensuring the museum remains a dynamic, evolving collection of works by the biggest and brightest contemporary artists of today. See more of the collection on the Michael Buxton Collection website. Via ArtsHub and The Australian. Image credit: From the ABC, Stephen Bush, Shout on the hills of glory, 2008.
Eleven years ago, Taika Waititi was a writer for hire, working on an adaptation of a beloved New Zealand book. Today, he's about to leap into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the director of the forthcoming Thor: Ragnarok. Progressing from the former to the latter hasn't been easy; however as Waititi's career has continually proven, he likes to stray off the beaten path. Indeed, before he embraces the superhero realm, he's bringing a dose of adventurous anarchy to cinema screens courtesy of his fourth feature, Hunt for the Wilderpeople. After exploring unconventional family dynamics with Eagle vs Shark, Boy and What We Do in the Shadows, Waititi ponders similar territory again. But this time, he's telling the tale of city kid Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison), his cranky foster uncle Hec (Sam Neill), and their attempts to escape an over-enthusiastic child services officer (Rachel House) by trampling through the New Zealand wilderness. And, he's actually returning to that project he started scripting more than a decade ago. Expect plenty of humour and heart, Terminator references, a dog named Tupac and Rhys Darby as an eccentric conspiracy theorist — all in a movie that has "synthesizers and a score from the '80s, and car chases and flipped police cars and all that stupid stuff," as Waititi puts it. There's a reason Hunt for the Wilderpeople has become New Zealand's biggest homegrown box office success of all time (knocking the filmmaker's own Boy off the top spot, actually). With the film's Australian release under way, we spoke with Waititi about great buddy comedies, getting annoyed at New Zealand's landscape and not being able to connect with bank robbers, and about the movie of the moment, of course. ON WHAT ATTRACTED HIM TO THE WILDERPEOPLE "I think it was just that I loved the idea of this character being on the run, sort of like Thelma and Louise or The Fugitive or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. All those kind of buddy flicks that, even films like Up, have two mismatched characters who are thrown together and stuck together. It's always been a winning combination in cinema. Paper Moon, 48 Hours, the list goes on. So I love that style and I thought it'd be a cool thing to see." ON WORKING WITH NEW ZEALAND'S UNPREDICTABLE WILDERNESS "We were shooting on locations, and we didn't really have much of an idea where we were going to shoot things, and what the weather was going to be like. We ended up in a whole lot of really remote places in New Zealand. At one of them ... we had a huge dump of snow. We had to kind of regroup that morning as the snow was falling on us, and we were like an hour from the main road, we had just driven deep inland. It was too expensive and it would lose the whole day moving everyone out of there. So we just basically decided to shoot and to set a part of the film in the snow. And that's when we got that cool 780-degree shot that turns around and around — we shot that, and spent a few hours shooting that ... While we were doing that, I was trying to figure out what we were going to do for the rest of the day. Now the film has this whole breadth of seasonal change through it. And it makes it even more epic, the fact that it has snow and it spans months and months." ON CELEBRATING THE FILM'S NEW ZEALAND HERITAGE "I'm very proud of where I come from, and I think [New Zealand's] a very beautiful place. Sometimes we take it for granted, how beautiful the land is. I think we get pissed off with it. It's like 'god you can't look anywhere without seeing some beautiful landscape'. And you forget that no one in the world has seen stuff like that. I think that's it's not often nowadays that we make films that celebrate what New Zealand looks like or like, the culture, the people, and how crazy we are. I wanted to do that. I wanted to use so much of that in there. So many parts of the film are inspired by '80s New Zealand films and Australian films. We used to make so many car chase films with people trying to drive from one end of the country to the other, and we stopped doing all that stuff. I think we started taking ourselves too seriously, and I don't do that." ON MAKING FILMS ABOUT UNCONVENTIONAL FAMILIES "Well, my family is crazy. I'm from a very crazy family — but I actually think every family is crazy. I think every single person has some insane part to their family. Every family, there's a criminal somewhere in there, there's a crazy person, there's someone who has just found religion, there's someone who's just left religion, there's someone who's been divorced, there's someone who has just fallen in love. Families are just really messed up, and they're a macro representation of earth, really. All parts of humanity all crammed into a couple of households. And it is the one thing I've found that everyone relates to the most: family dynamics. I don't relate to bank robbers. I've seen a lot of those films, and I get really bored. I don't care about the stakes, and I don't care about what they're trying to do, and I don't care about bank robbery, so I lose interest. But if you set it around a bank robber who's trying to get together with his ex-wife, at least there's something to hold on to there." ON JUMPING FROM INDIE FILMS TO DIRECTING MARVEL'S FORTHCOMING THOR MOVIE "There's not a huge difference really, to be honest. There's just a little bit more time, and you get a few more opportunities to do things that, in the normal indie world, you'd have to find cheaper ways of doing or you'd just have to have a character talk about rather than actually showing something blow up. So parts of your imagination, you actually get to shoot — and that's quite cool. It also could be dangerous to give people that much freedom, creatively. But it is very similar to the indie world in terms of it is still a bunch of people wanting to make a really good story and to make a good film." Hunt for the Wilderpeople opens in Australian cinemas on May 26.
Melbourne has staked out most corners of the global culinary map, but there aren't too many American diners in the city. Lulie Tavern is trying to remedy that with its latest pop-up: Lulie's Weekend Diner. Every weekend from June 17, Lulie in Abbotsford will transform into a proper tribute to Americana, with extended opening hours, a new breakfast menu and plenty of brew coffee, courtesy of the guys at Coffee Supreme. It's as American as you're going to get without needing to leave a tip. For the menu, think American-style breakfast muffins with egg and cheese, pork and fennel sausage patties, hash browns, brekkie tacos, eggy French Toast and smoky baked beans. All the food groups you need for a rocking good Saturday morning (especially if you enjoyed a rocking good Friday night). The diner pop-up will run every Saturday and Sunday until mid-July, so you've got some time to catch this one. The menu runs most of the day, too, from 10am to 3pm. You can also grab Lulie's regular menu from midday, if wall-to-wall sausage patties aren't really your thing. Images: supplied.
QVM's regular night markets have always been hugely popular, but this year's have really gone off. The Hawker 88 Night Market had its best year yet, and the Winter Night Market saw well over 290,000 people visit across its 13-week run. Melburnians can't get enough of these food- and culture-filled evenings. And the Queen Vic Market is capitalising on this during its break between the winter and summer iterations, enlisting Albert Lim (Hawker 88 Night Market) to run a two-day festival that heroes food from across Southeast Asia. On Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8, a huge selection of traders will descend on the Queen Vic Market to smash out all kinds of hawker-style eats. You'll find everything from Malaysian nasi lemak and Filipino charcoal skewers to Burmese noodles and Vietnamese banh mi. Desserts from many other Asian franchises that populate the streets of Southeast Asia will also be on the cards, including Korean bingsu and Chinese mooncakes. As usual, there'll be plenty of live entertainment both on stages and roaming around the market, plus booze stalls will also be set up on both days. If this is anything like Lim's hugely popular Hawker 88 Night Market events, it's sure to get a bit rowdy.
If a South Korean jaunt has been on your bucket list for a while, here's a Melbourne event you shouldn't miss: Korea Festival returns to Federation Square after a three-year hiatus, bringing Squid Game-inspired challenges, Korean street food and live entertainment to Melbourne. This vibrant slice of Korean culture is set to drop in Melbourne for one-day-only on Saturday, May 13. It's free for everyone to attend, with a lineup of live performances including Taekwondo demonstrations, K-Pop dances and singing competitions promised throughout the day. Between snacking and drinking your fill from a wide variety of Korean food stands, festival goers can also challenge themselves to Squid Game-inspired tests, including the now-famous Red Light, Green Light game. The Netflix show's tug-of-war and the traditional game of Ttakji will also be available to play if you're keen to showcase your skills. Image: Supplied.
Mainstream arts and culture events can be good fun, but the annual Melbourne Fringe Festival is all about showcasing artists who play within, well, the fringes. You won't find your usual ballad-belting musicals or classic comedy gigs here. Instead, you'll be treated to boundary-pushing experiences in the performing arts, music, dance and cabaret spaces. But it won't all be entirely random, as the 2024 Melbourne Fringe Festival — running from Tuesday, October 1–Sunday, October 20 — is focusing most of its events around the theme of 'Eat Your Art Out'. Artists will be playing with the relationship between art and food at venues across the city, through over 470 different events. Some of these have been curated by the festival's team and others are more or less random. There is an open access component to the Melbourne Fringe Festival, which means that anyone can sign up and put on a show during the three-week program. [caption id="attachment_969684" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cooked at Fed Square[/caption] So, what can you expect this year? Firstly, you'll find the COOKED event series at Federation Square, which is centred around a pop-up hot plate stage. The amphitheatre will become a dual dining and performance space, with visitors encouraged to grill free food on the working barbecues as a diverse range of artists and chefs perform all kinds of shows around them. It kicks off on Tuesday, October 1, with the free event Seasoning the Grill. For this one, First Nations artists light up the public barbecue for an evening of smoke, dance, DJs, art and great eats. Traditional and contemporary practices of food and art come together for this one-off performance. As this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival is all about food and art, it makes so much sense for Queen Vic Market to be involved as well. [caption id="attachment_969690" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The Huxleys[/caption] Most notably, it will host the Fringe Flavours Night Market, which sees a stack of Fringe artists take over the weekly night market. This will run beyond the main festival dates, from Wednesday, September 18–Wednesday, October 16, and is an absolute must for foodies. The market will host a stacked lineup of food and drink vendors, have a pop-up stage for all kinds of shows, and give way for roving performers to surprise diners every Wednesday. It's taking the beloved night market to all-new heights. [caption id="attachment_969691" align="alignnone" width="1920"] TOMATO[/caption] The Festival Hub at Trades Hall is also returning for 2024, hosting over 100 large and small events throughout the historic building. Most notably, this is where you'll see Finucane & Smith's Global Smash Club, an ode to 20 years of the international smash-hit Burlesque Hour from Melbourne Fringe mainstay Moira Finucane. You'll then find Pony Cam, the team behind Rising's popular show Burnout Paradise, premiering its new work FEAST at Substation. Here, performers reimagine the idea of dinner and a show, by combining it all into one big food-filled party. This one will be fairly interactive, so only go if you're willing to have a little fun with the audience participation elements. There's also the Pulse program, which includes Flames Danced in Their Hair But Did Not Burn Them and Body of Knowledge — both exploring ideas of consent and gender. [caption id="attachment_969688" align="alignnone" width="1920"] FEAST[/caption] This year's Fringe Focus Taiwan program boasts two contemporary dance works that focus on bodily exploration. There's TOMATO, a playful work of sex, lust, and a box of tomatoes, and Girl's Notes, which sees a dancer and a live pianist take inspiration from a 1990s book that instructs women on how to behave. We could go on and on with this epic Melbourne Fringe Festival 2024 lineup, but we'll leave that for you to explore via the festival's website. There are so many ways to Fringe, but we love to check out a few big highlights and then also go to a handful of smaller shows we know nothing about. This annual festival is all about challenging yourself and trying new things. If you've missed it in the past, don't let it happen again. [caption id="attachment_969685" align="alignnone" width="1920"] COOKED at Fed Square[/caption] Top Image: FEAST.
For the uninitiated who visit Din Tai Fung Emporium, the sight of ten or so people encased in what seems like a hermetically sealed, glass-walled prison may be slightly disconcerting at first. Upon closer inspection though, the glass walls serve only as a screen, displaying the precision and artisanal care that Din Tai Fung's dumpling masters put into what you are soon to devour. From the stacked, steaming bamboo baskets that greet you on the way through the door to the abrupt hospitality that says we know we're good — so hurry up, eat and leave, you will feel as though the bustling streets of Taipei are right outside the entire time. For the regulars — particularly those that love to display their cultural prowess to the world — the opportunity to teach someone the ways of eating xiao long bao without losing the encased nectarous soup (or severely burning their mouth) is enough to allow a foodie to die happy. While it is easy to be distracted by the perennial favourites, it's important to keep your mind (and stomach) open to options. The crispy chicken with egg fried rice, spicy shrimp and pork wonton and the simple water spinach with garlic are unmissable additions to your table. All the usual liquids are on the menu, but if you're feeling like a refreshing palate cleanser, one can't go past the lychee mint freeze. And if, after all this, you find yourself wanting more, the golden lava mini buns — a.k.a. custard buns — are a perfect finish. The mango pudding is a delightful way to wrap it all up. If you're yet to step over the threshold of this Taiwanese native, it's time you did. You can even order your meal while you wait for that elusive table — just find yourself a clipboard and menu on the podium at the door and place your order on the checkbox menu form. Then, through the magic that is Din Tai Fung Emporium, your meal will likely arrive at your table at the same time you do.
We seriously hope you manage to sneak in a holiday in 2017, because boutique hotel curator Mr & Mrs Smith has compiled the votes from over 25,000 of its luxury-loving users and decided on the world's best accommodation options. These sensational hotels are not only in our most famous cities, but also in areas of remote paradise across the world. In partnership with Mr & Mrs Smith, here are 12 truly incredible, highly individual accommodation options. You'll find treehouses, old relics-turned-hotels and two boutique hotels on Aussie turf (oi, oi, oi!). BEST SMITH HOTEL: HALCYON HOUSE, AUSTRALIA Australia's very own Halcyon House has taken out the top spot in the awards, ushering visitors in with its coastal charm. Luxuriously sited on New South Wales' Cabarita Beach, the hotel opened in 2015 and has already made a name for itself simply by having rooms with stunning decor. Each is decked out in vibrant patterns, often featuring flashes of blue to honour the ocean. Restored vintage bicycles are available to hire, or guests can enjoy a calm afternoon playing croquet, unwinding on candy-striped day beds by the pool, or heading to the hotel's acclaimed restaurant and bar, Paper Daisy, for some "Australian coastal cooking". COOLEST CREATIVE HUB: FOGO ISLAND INN, CANADA Spectacularly perched on a cliff edge (we wouldn't expect anything less from a hotel in Canada), Fogo Island Inn is turning heads. If a wood-fired sauna, rooftop hot tub, art gallery and pastries delivered to your door every morning sounds enticing, then this inn is for you. Managing to pull off grandeur while exercising sustainability, there are rainwater catchment systems and renewable solar and wood-burning energy sources embedded in the inn. The 29 suites are classically and calmingly minimalistic, consisting of white walls, floors and bathrooms that are livened with colourful homewares and furniture made by local designers. BEST DRESSED HOTEL: PALAZZO MARGHERITA, ITALY Dense with soul, grace and opulence, Palazzo Margherita sits in the Italian town of Bernalda, at the arch of Italy's foot. It's fit for a king, and coincidentally restored by film royalty. Director of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola, sought to refurbish what was a decaying 19th century relic and turn it into a hotel. All nine suites in the palazzo are individually characterised, some with peachy walls and gold framing, others looking onto roof murals reminiscent of Catholic churches. Guests have the option to unwind at the warmly hued family bar, or the cinecitta bar where the walls are lined with glossy photos of Italian celebrities. For explorers, this accommodation could not be more perfectly placed. The Basilicata region is flush with ruins, including those of Metaponto and Policoro, as well as the cave dwellings of Matera. The deserted town of Craco is within reach, too. WORLD'S SEXIEST BEDROOM: KEEMALA, THAILAND You may find it hard to put your phone down and resist the urge to post on Instagram seventeen times a day at Keemala. It's Avatar meets a five-star resort. The pool villas, harnessed in generous, luscious rainforest, may send your followers into an envious spiral. Rooms are encased in woven wood cocoons and beds are gloriously draped with lavish curtains that you can close and shut off from the world. The resort offers an hourly shuttle to Kamala beach, a spa and fitness centre holding yoga and Muay Thai boxing classes, as well as tai chi on the beach. The pool bar whips up innovative cocktails such as a lemongrass-infused Tom Yum cocktail and bittersweet Martinis paired with raw cacao. Intimate dining options can also be arranged, in the resort's plentiful gardens, or on a rocky outcrop. BEST DATE-NIGHT BAR: THE LONDON EDITION, ENGLAND Behind a neoclassical, royal exterior lies the splendour of The London Edition. It's part of the larger group of boutique 'Edition' hotels headed by the Marriott International, which are also opening locations in Abu Dhabi, Reykjavik and Barcelona. At the masterfully designed London Edition though, guests are welcomed by an extravagant lobby made up of ceiling motifs and classic green velour couches, while the rooms mix old and new to create an aesthetically wonderful atmosphere. The rooms are made of entirely timber walls, with refreshingly white bathrooms to contrast. Visitors often flock to the hotel's dining room, Berners Tavern, which is superbly and absolutely packed with 19th Century gilt-framed paintings. Serving high-end comfort food, the tavern is not only popular among guests, but those outside of The London Edition, too. BEST GOURMET GETAWAY: THE OLD CLARE HOTEL, AUSTRALIA The Old Clare occupies the previous headquarters of the old Carlton & United Breweries in Chippendale. It's made up of 62 rooms, which still have their heritage ceilings and panelling. Modern in some places and retro in others, the hotel exudes personality in every crevice. The Old Clare also plays the proud host to two of Sydney's coolest dining institutions — Kensington Street Social, which has a menu that gives a contemporary tip of the to British cuisine, and the refined and brilliantly designed Automata. Both are gloriously sophisticated in their own right. Head to the other end of the hotel (the top) and you'll find a rooftop pool that coolly overlooks Chippendale. MOST SPOILING SPA: AMANEMU, JAPAN You may fall over looking at the entrance pavilion at Amanemu — it's a beautiful, Japanese building enhanced by stunning backdrop of Ago Bay. Fortunately, this spa hotel is built around natural hot springs that are incorporated into treatments and the suites themselves. The rooms are perfectly geometric, drawing on Japanese minimalism to calm patrons even further. Blonde timber is lit by generous rays of sunshine that arrive through the many windows of each room every morning. Step outside and you're treated to an incredible scene of trees and the hotel's spa terrace. If you seek healing and a pure escape, put Amanemu on your list. POOL WITH A VIEW: GRAND HOTEL TREMEZZO, ITALY This place is the epitome of la dolce vita. The Grand Hotel Tremezzo is one of the monstrosities gracing Italy's even grander Lake Como. The exterior of the hotel features what we call 'lakeception' — a pool situated on an actual lake. Behind that you'll find guests rejuvenating on sun lounges shielded by white umbrellas, before trickling back through the hotel, through regal red painted walls and embellished columns. Rooms are furnished with gold, paint-framed mirrors and plush furniture resembling that of Italian royalty. Imaginably, the rooms host ridiculous window views of Lake Como's emerald waters and the mesmerisingly large mountains that protect them. Waterside bars and in-house Italian dining top off the stay — anything more you want to ask for? ABOVE AND BEYOND: AWASI, CHILE Among pristine, untouched Patagonia are 14 luxury cabins unlike anything else out there. The Awasi resort champions its surroundings, fitting into vistas of lakes, snow-tipped mountains and forests as seamlessly as a Patagonian puma hiding in the hills. Each cabin is topped off with a hot tub, where guests can admire their unbelievable surroundings. Visitors are also well attended to, with a private guide assigned to customise their experience. That could involve running away to off-the-beat hiking trails that lead to the best wildlife viewing spots the area has to offer. Seclusion and serenity unite at Awasi to deliver an unforgettable Chilean experience. BEST FAMILY HOTEL: TREEHOTEL, SWEDEN If Tarzan opened a luxury group of treehouses, it would translate to Sweden's Treehotel complex. There's something addictively adventurous about hanging among the trees, even when you're an adult. And before you think you'll be doing it tough, know that the cleverly designed pods that clutch the forest trees are filled with stunning Scandinavian-styled interiors. You'll have to monkey down the trees to cook though. There's a restaurant, bar and shared kitchen area, as well as shared bathrooms with a sauna and whirlpool plunge bath. Alongside that is an open-air hot tub, ziplines and an abundance of forest to look at. Each room is accessible by either a ladder or stairs. HOTTEST HOTEL SOUNDTRACK: FAZENDA NOVA, PORTUGAL Fazenda Nova is the love child of London born Hallie and Tim Robinson, who holidayed in Portugal for three years before opening their own accommodation. The pair renovated a 19th-century farmhouse to create a stunning retreat, surrounded by almond, pomegranate and olive orchards. Fazenda Nova encompasses the exuberance Portugal is renowned for, but the Robinsons have slotted in international influences into the grounds including Balinese teak furniture and Moroccan doors that the pair collected during their travels. The restaurant, A Cozihna, preaches the glory of Portuguese cuisine, which is often shadowed by Spanish cuisine (note — the two are exceedingly different). Menu options rotate daily, but often honour local seafood, and dishes are made from the hotel's own produce. LOCAL HOTEL HERO: 11 HOWARD, NEW YORK The romantic 11 Howard hotel proudly resides in Lower Manhattan. You may recognise the 150-foot mural that graces the side of the building from Instagram, where it is shared endlessly. Made up of minimally beautiful rooms, it's not hard to assume that guests struggle to check out of here. Danish design rules the decor; rooms are made up of light oak floors, blush pinks and soft greys to create a calm ambiance. Le Coucou (the hotel's restaurant) is something out of a fairytale, partly evoked by the forest painted walls that surround diners. It's a NYC hotspot, not that we'd expect anything less from acclaimed chef Daniel Rose, who set up La Bourse et La Vie in Paris. After indulging there, trickle over to the hotel's bar, The Blond. By 9pm, the sensual space transforms into a nightclub. There's a strict guest list from Thursday to Saturday, but as a hotel patron you don't need to fret. You'll get in easily.
A team of truly conscientious Italian cleaners will be toning down their enthusiasm this week, after accidentally cleaning up an entire art installation at the Museion, Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolanzo, Italy. Thinking the museum had really gone overboard with their opening night party, the cleaners painstakingly put Milanese artists Goldschmied & Chiari's installation Where Are We Going to Dance Tonight? in the bin; a wildly colourful work that consists of 300 empty champagne bottles, a disco ball, confetti, streamers and cigarette butts. The artists found a guide to the clubs of the Italian peninsula written in 1988 written by the then foreign minister Gianni de Michelis, sharing the name of the artwork Where Are We Going to Dance Tonight? According to artnet, the work is inspired by the hedonistic, consumerist period of '80s Italy and the "socialist politicians and their neverending parties". *whipcrack* IN THE BIN! The best part of this terribly awkward and tragic art tale? Because these cleaners were particularly meticulous in their job, they sorted the different elements of the work into their appropriate recycling receptacles, particularly the glass and paper elements. This means the museum will probably be able to rescue and reinstall the work. The museum's Facebook page says the work will be reinstalled as soon as possible. Eep. Via artnet. Images: Museion Bozen-Bolzano/Facebook, @MarleneP_/Twitter. UPDATE OCTOBER 29, 2015: Goldschmied & Chiari's installation has been restored and reopened in the Museion Bozen-Bolzano. "We greatly regret what happened to the artists' work: it was the result of a misunderstanding with the staff of the cleaning company," the museum said in a statement on its website. Party's back on! Happy friday?? #GoldschmiedChiari #doveandiamoaballarequestasera#2015 #Museion#alberodellacuccagna#Bolzano A video posted by Goldschmied & Chiari (@goldschmied_chiari) on Oct 23, 2015 at 10:15am PDT
As the nights become longer and summer makes its stifling presence known, it's becoming more and more clear the type of diet Melbournians will be having over the next few months. While Brisbane and Sydney may be taking to the beach more often to share a bowl of acai, goji berries, and organic yoghurt, we're concerning ourselves with big American BBQ, endless gelato, and greasy potato cakes. It's finally getting fashionable to overindulge. With that in mind, please say hello to Grand Trailer Park Taverna — Melbourne's newest novelty American eatery located right in the (soon to be clogged) heart of the CBD. Opening earlier this week on the corner of Bourke and Exhibitions Streets, the Grand Trailer Park is brought to us by Pawn & Co's Josh Lefers and Dani Zieni from the Dandenong Pavilion. Fitted out with renovated caravans, this space is home to a range of burgers, desserts, cocktails and — wait for it — spiked milkshakes. Hold back your gags, please — these treats will be way different from that time you tried to make a Beer Spider (trademark pending). Here, you'll be able to choose from four stellar selections: Makers Mark Bourbon, salted caramel and maple bacon; Kinder Surprise, Frangelico and Baileys; marshmallow, blue heaven and vanilla vodka; or peanut butter and jelly and Captain Morgan's Rum. But it doesn't stop there. The food is just as crazy impressive with burgers boasting killer names like The Chunk - Double Double, The Ivan Drago and Cynthia Benson. Our favourite is the Francis Underwood. Though it doesn't have the much-loved ribs the infamous House of Cards character is known for, it does have a bit of that distinctive Southern charm. Get this: alongside the fresh Australian beef, American cheddar and mustard, it has a potato, mac and cheese croquette. In case, after all that, you're not feeling like a ball of saturated fat and shame, they also offer a range of desserts that are well worth the trip. They even offer three — count 'em — types of waffle stacks. One stuffed with Nutella parfait, whipped cream, strawberries and Nutella sauce, another filled with peanut butter parfait, cream, strawberries and salted caramel sauce, and the last a giant Nutella-based offering that serves four and comes with your very own jar of Nutella on the side. If that's not enough they also serve mini waffle cones of ice cream coated in Wizz Fizz because YOLO. Some say overeating doesn't lend itself well to the warmer months, but we can see ourselves spending a lot of time here very soon. Photos via Grand Trailer Park Taverna and Jimmy's Burgers.
From the owners of Melbourne's most beloved Greek restaurant, Stalactites, Hella Good is the takeaway souvlaki joint of your dreams. With three locations across Melbourne that are always busy, we can only hope they keep expanding — as it really is hella good. The menu is as long as your arm, so we can't go through it all, but the reason you've clicked on this is because of souvlaki, so let's start there. Rolled in warm pita bread and stuffed full of lettuce, onion, tomato and homemade tzatziki sauce, the souvlakis make the perfect lunch or dinner. Options include the Kotter with marinated boneless chicken, fresh from the spit; the Terry with a veggie and feta fritter, tomato, onion and cucumber; the Harvey with boneless chicken and marinated lamb (our pick); the Arnie, with just lamb; and finally its vegan option with a veggie fritter and homemade hummus. They're all amazing and if you're not vegetarian you will still love the veggie options. Elsewhere on the menu are mains, including snack packs with chicken and lamb gyros, hope chips and pita bread, as well as naked souvlakis with both meats, topped with lettuce, carrot, cucumber, tomato, onion, feta, olives and homemade tzatziki. Hungry yet? Snacks and sides include spanakopitas with baked spinach, feta and herbs in a crispy pastry, and the fritters or hot chips on their own. If you're after something sweet to cap off your Greek odyssey, try the baklava finger pack with walnuts and honey or the rice pudding which is dusted off with cinnamon. Hella Good also offers a catering service, slinging truckloads of souvlakis at offices and parties across the city.
The Victorian government have officially begun their push to become the first state in the country to legalise medicinal marijuana. Delivering on a pledge made during the last election, the Andrews government yesterday tabled a report in parliament by the Victorian Law Reform Commission. Among its recommendations: a licensing scheme allowing for the production of medicinal cannabis, for the purposes of treating serious illnesses including cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDs. "During the election we committed to legalising medicinal cannabis for use in exceptional circumstances, and we’re delivering on our promise," said premier Daniel Andrews in a statement that accompanied the announcement. "I’ve seen first-hand how medicinal cannabis can change people’s lives. This landmark reform means Victorian families will no longer have to decide between breaking the law and watching their child suffer." Now before you start celebrating too hard, we should make clear that this isn't the same as legalising pot for everyone. Under the report's recommendations, licensed cultivators will be able to produce legal cannabis products, including oils, sprays and capsules, which will be available at pharmacies to patients who have received authorisation from a specialist doctors. Smokable marijuana will also remain illegal — so keep your homemade bongs in your sock drawers for the time being. Still, progress is progress — and this is especially great news for people suffering from the kinds of chronic pain and illness that marijuana use can help alleviate. Assuming he can get a tick of approval from the federal government, Andrews expects to make medical cannabis available by early 2017, with children suffering from severe epilepsy expected to be the first to benefit. Via The Age. Image: Dollar Photo Club.
Beloved Aussie rockers Tame Impala are suing their ex-record label Modular for over half-a-million in unpaid overseas royalties. A month ago, Kevin Parker hinted in a Reddit AMA that the band was feuding with Modular and, until recently, hadn’t received a single dollar from overseas royalties. “I may never get that money,” he lamented “Someone high up spent the money before it got to me." If we're reading between the lines, this means that if you supported Tame Impala outside of Australia, your money actually went to line the pockets of Modular label founder Stephen Pavlovic. And a lot of you did. According to The Australian, Parker’s new label BMG is suing Pavlovic for $US450,000 (AUD$588,150). That’s a lot of dough. Modular is also being accused of ignoring a 'cease and desist' letter regarding their distribution of Tama Impala material. Modular's not exactly rolling in it right now. The Music reports that most of Modular’s big names (including Pond, Architecture in Helsinki and Wolfmother) have moved on to other labels and distribution channels. At the end of the day, this isn't the first time an artist has chased their own unpaid royalties. In his AMA, Parker went on to explain (in a frankly chill way for someone who has been duped out of hundreds of thousands of dollars) that basically, the music industry is fukt. Let's be honest, when you pay money for an album instead of downloading it illegally for free — a decision usually made out of respect for the artist — the majority of that money is likely finding its way into the wallet of a third party. Parker cut right through the bullshit, saying "As far as I'm concerned the best thing you can do for an artist is LISTEN to the music...fall in love with it.......talk about it.........get it however you can get it....Let the corporations pay for [it]”. Right on, brother. Pavlovic is yet to comment on the situation and is unlikely to soon, considering the legal battle ahead. Via Tone Deaf and The Australian. Image: End of the Road.
For those of you who don’t know/have more important things to worry about, the Pirelli calendar is a yearly project by the Pirelli Tyre company that collates sexualised photos of the world’s 'hottest' models (shot by the world’s 'hottest' — read: mostly male — photographers) into a calendar, so that you can feel strange arousal every time you glance at your schedule for the month. This year however, they’ve taken a different tact and we don’t think it’s too much to burl yasssss queen! from every balcony we can find. The 2016 calendar features figures from the other 99.99% of the population that aren’t supermodels but are damned fine, including Amy Schumer (patron saint of the everywoman), Serena Williams, Patti Smith, Tavi Gevinson and Fran Leibovitz among others — and yes, they could choose to be clothed (what a world we live in). The portraits have been making headlines not just for the obvious departure from Pirelli calendar tradition but because the images themselves, shot by none other than Annie Leibovitz, are powerful and refreshing in a mediascape of so often saturated in airbrushed Kardashians. Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman. Thank you @annieleibovitz pic.twitter.com/kc0rIDvHVi — Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) November 30, 2015 Amy Schumer is grabbing headlines for her choice to get raw and nekkid. Schumer posted her images to Twitter with the caption “Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman.” The general Internet consensus has been one of frenzied, supportive agreement. Serena Williams also opted to go nude, probably to show off the fact she could break your neck (and heart) with her general power. Other women featured include Yoko Ono, film mogul Kathleen Kennedy, Melody Hobson, Yao Chen, Agnes Gund and Sadie Rain Hope-Gund, artist Shirin Neshat, director Ava DuVernay and Natalia Vodianova. Pirelli has been applauded for celebrating ‘real’ women this year, but corporeal semantics aside, the overwhelming response to the calendar has been positive: a joyful celebration of women of all ages, races, religions and professions and we simply cannot wait to get out hands on one. Via SMH.
There is nothing, nothing more purely joyous as hurtling down an epic plastic lane covered in soap bubbles and hose water. Slip 'N' Slides have pride of place in some of our Paddle Pop-dotted, sunburn-ridden backyard memories, but all is not lost to the slippery realms of memory. This year, a giant Slip 'N' Slide is coming to your city, with Nova's Slidestreet confirmed for Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne this summer. Created by the team behind Perth's ice skating pop-up, Winterland, the Slidestreet is inspired by the urban slide created by UK artist Luke Jerram. With its successful Perth run under its belt, the 315 metre-long Slidestreet is heading to Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens on January 24 and Sydney’s Centennial Park on Australia Day, January 26. Melburnians, you lucky, lucky bunch, you could also be casually getting the world's longest slide in February — permit permitting. At $15 +BF a slide, it's a teeny bit exxy for something you could DIY with a little help from Bunnings, but sometimes you just have to hand over the cashola for novelty bragging rights. And if you thought an entire event could be created around the humble Slip 'N' Slide, you're bang on. The whole day will feature food trucks, icy summer treats, DJs, pop-up bars — yep, the whole bloody works. We're guessing this is to give the sad, sad, slideless spectators something to do while their ticket-holding friends have All The Fun. Importantly, according to the Slidestreet rules, Go Pro selfie poles are NOT allowed on the slide. Slidestreet is heading to Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens on January 24 and Sydney’s Centennial Park on Australia Day, January 26. Tickets start at $15 +BF a slide, available here.
Korean-style fried chicken and cold beer continue to be a hot combination at SamSam's Swanston Street store, especially among students hunting down cheap eats in Melbourne CBD. Here, every morsel of bird is guaranteed to have that perfect golden crunch thanks to the massive robotic arm that hovers over the deep fryer throughout the day. When it comes to your fried chicken, you can go for bone-in or boneless, and then pick the sauce you want to slather on these bad boys. Hot and spicy is a crowd favourite — SamSam isn't holding back on the heat with this one — but you'll be more than happy choosing soy and garlic, mala-soy, sweet chilli, soy and mustard, lemon mayo, or snow cheese. Baskets of bird come with pickled radish and coleslaw, and can easily be paired with a jug of ice-cold beer and kimchi fries. Beyond serving some of the best fried chicken in Melbourne, SamSam also offers kimchi fried rice, cheese bomb tteokbokki, bibimbap, bulgogi on rice, and a bunch of noodle dishes. These Korean eats are fab, but if we are being honest, you come here for the fried chicken. Images: Julia Sansone.
There's so much to see and do in St Kilda. So much, you kind of need to stay in the area for a couple of nights in order to experience it all. There's the beautiful coastline, the palm tree-lined Catani Gardens, running tracks by the water, bars, restaurants and local institutions. We want you to experience St Kilda in all of its glory, so we're giving you some spending money and accommodation for a weekend. We'll put you up in a one-bedroom Adina apartment for two nights (a stay worth $1000). You can use our local's guide to St Kilda to fill in the gaps, but you'll go stand-up paddleboarding at St Kilda Beach with the experts at St Kilda Stand Up Paddle Boarding, indulge in a massage and eat dinner at the luxurious, Italian Cafe Di Stasio on the first night, and Andrew McConnell's Luxembourg Bar and Bistro on the second night. The big kicker is that you'll also be in the area for St Kilda Festival — a highlight on Melbourne's event calendar. There will be food, workshops and activities as well as music from Tiny Little Houses, The Smith Street Band, Archie Roach and Bec Sandridge among many other talented Melbourne locals. Accommodation will be for two nights in a spacious Adina Apartment Hotel on February 11 and 12 (you'll check out on the morning of the February 13). The apartment is on St Kilda's vibrant Fitzroy Street — steps away from some of the area's best cafes as well as the tram to St Kilda Beach and the CBD. If you're able to make your own way to St Kilda, this competition is open to our lovely Brisbane and Sydney audience too. Enter your details below, say yes to the terms and conditions and you're in the running. Entries close on Thursday, February 2. [competition]607306[/competition]
Summer may be over, but the sweltering weather is set to keep on rolling in. In any case, any time's a good time to pick up a spoon and dig into a hearty (and perhaps healthy) breakfast bowl. So swap the bacon and thick toast for a bright, light bowl of goodness. Perhaps it's filled with acai, or a Snickers smoothie or chia pudding — whatever your choice of pre-noon poison, these seasonal bowls are always a good, satisfying breakfast open. And they are really pretty. So here are Melbourne's most delicious (and best looking) breakfast bowls. LYCHEE AND PASSIONFRUIT CHAI PUDDING AT MAMMOTH Getting tired of smashed avo? One of the most hyped cafes to open in 2015 features a delightfully creative brunch menu with absolutely none of your traditional lazy morning brunches. Not suitable for patrons averse to change, Armadale's Mammoth dishes out a grilled lychee and passionfruit chia pudding with macadamia, hemp seed crumble and blood orange ($14). [caption id="attachment_562055" align="alignnone" width="1280"] laurafordnutrition via Instagram[/caption] ACAI BOWL AT MONK BODHI DHARMA Gluten free, dairy free and splendidly guilt free, Monk Bodhi Dharma's acai bowl is topped with banana, berries, coconut yoghurt and their Dresden granola. The lack of element don't make Monk Bodhi Dharma's acai bowl any less delicious. And it's just as well — foodies with sensitive tummies are known to eat this breakfast more often than not. [caption id="attachment_562057" align="alignnone" width="1280"] thatfooodie via Instagram[/caption] PASSIONFRUIT PANNACOTTA AT TWO BIRDS ONE STONE Is it a mousse? Is it a custard? Nope — it's a pannacotta. The warm, homely ambience of Two Birds One Stone is created by stained glass tiling and more than a few low-hanging lights, making it the perfect place to enjoy a wonderfully wobbly brunch. Topped with edible flowers, fresh passionfruit, nutty granola and saffron-scented pineapple, this is stuff is delicious ($13). The pannacotta is made with passionfruit and yoghurt, making it the healthy alternative for bright 'n' early sweet tooths. HOUSE-MADE COCONUT YOGHURT AT THE KETTLE BLACK One of Melbourne's best looking cafes also boasts the most photogenic yoghurt ever. With a goodie bowl filled with house-made coconut yoghurt and topped with gluten-free grains, nuts, seeds, chunky fruit and those edible flower petals ($14), this bowl is crammed full of ingredients with absolutely no post-brunch guilt. None. Nada. FIVE GRAIN CACAO PORRIDGE AT BARRY It's a borderline dessert sneakily masquerading as breakfast, but we're certainly not complaining. Barry's five grain cacao porridge with coconut labne, strawberries, goji berries and pistachios ($15) is one sweet — and very healthy — way to start the day. Featuring exposed, industrial-styled ceilings and concrete floors, Barry's cacao porridge is as Instagram-worthy as the cafe's interior. We guarantee you won't regret your choice at Barry – after all, when have they ever led you wrong? [caption id="attachment_562064" align="alignnone" width="1280"] eatmelbs via Instagram[/caption] ACAI BOWL AT LITTLE BIG SUGAR SALT One of Melbourne's favourite cheeky cafes, Little Big Sugar Salt, throws down some of this city's best breakfast bowls. But don't be fooled — this is no ordinary bowl of nuts and grains. Boasting house-made, gluten free, lightly spiced granola paired with creamy coconut yoghurt, pomegranate and a generous serve of fresh fruit ($17), Little Big Sugar Salt's acai bowl is made for summer. PALEO BREKKIE BOWL AT STREET ORGANICS If house-made kombucha, rich nut milks and seasonal, organic produce is part of your non-negotiable weekly grocery shop, Malvern's Street Organics is the mother load. Shelves filled with pantry staples, fresh fruits and a range of organic, biodynamic products are available everyday. Nestled in an alley-like seating area, you can enjoy a well-earned paleo brekkie bowl, post-shopping spree. With frozen banana, blueberries, cashew and almond cream, coconut yoghurt, chia seeds and goji berries ($12), it's packed with enough goodness to keep you going all weekend. [caption id="attachment_562060" align="alignnone" width="1280"] biancabeebs via Instagram[/caption] SNICKERS SMOOTHIE BOWL AT TREI CAFE Glen Waverley might not be Melbourne's biggest food hub, but Trei Cafe's opening on Blackburn Road has got has foodies running southeast. Boasting a clean eating menu options and playful pastel features, order yourself a Snickers smoothie bowl and prepare for the healthiest bowl of chocolate ever. Made with almond mylk, cacao, NuZest protein, peanut butter, banana, rice malt syrup and salted peanuts ($10.50), it's almost certainly the best (and nuttiest) start to the day. BIRCHER MUSELI WITH MACERATED STRAWBERRIES AT MR MISTER From dilapidated brickwork to low-hanging vines, Mr Mister's interior was designed with the intent of blending the cafe's indoor and outdoor spaces. Among their menu of cold drinks, juices and nut milks, you'll find their velvet smooth Bircher with macerated strawberries, vanilla, pomegranate and toasted pistachios ($13). One of Windsor's best low-key brunch spots, Mr Mister is the ideal spot for a big of brekkie bowl action. BLUEBERRY AND RICOTTA HOTCAKE AT TOP PADDOCK One of Melbourne's favourite cafés serves up one of the best breakfast cakes in the city. Their giant blueberry and ricotta hotcake comes with fresh berries, organic maple, seeds and double cream ($19.50). They're fluffy, and the perfect excuse to succumb to sugar cravings this early in the day. And before you ask, yes, it's served in a bowl. Top image: Dollar Photo Club.
In the latest show of the Australian hospitality scene's support for marriage equality, the owners of Brisbane bar The End are ramping up production of their Rainbow Beer through a $100,000AUD Pozible campaign, with 50 percent of all profits supporting initiatives run by Australian Marriage Equality. The campaign will enable large-scale production of the brew, which, at its core, aims to bring the conversation of LGBTQI+ rights to the forefront. "We have lots of friends and family that identify in that community and the marriage debate is just a blatant beacon of unfairness, so if we can do anything to help we feel we have the responsibility to do it," says owner Nick Goding. "We want to encourage as many people to get on board as possible and I'm currently on the campaign trail in Melbourne to get more bars involved." The 'pro-love' beer has been on tap in small batch quantities at their West End bar since 2011, but, along with Goding, owners Timothy Lovett and Ben Johnston have been feeling lately that this quiet contribution isn't enough. Their plan is to make the simple, hand-painted brand louder and stronger by expanding it past their local community. "We were having a general chat about the Cooper's boycott controversy and how terrible the marriage equality debate is, then had a look in front of us at our Rainbow Beer and thought we could make it a larger force for positive change," says Goding. The beer itself is a crisp, easy-drinking German-style pilsner. The gents collaborated on the recipe with a Queensland microbrewery to make it a solid craft brew but also a sessionable one. If successful, the Pozible campaign will allow Rainbow Beer to be offered in cartons and wholesale for bars and consumers around Australia. Pledges range from $15 to $4000, with the latter a pledge to become a 'Rainbow Bar', which includes 12 kegs and the option for an ongoing contract. "We hope that having a bunch of bars with Rainbow cans in their fridge will help keep the conversation going," says Goding. ""As great as it is to be able to make the beer and do the donations, the message of equality is by far the most important part of the campaign." Apart from the donated portion, the pledges will cover beer production and canning as well as packaging and distribution. The Pozible campaign is only running through May 12, though, so the time to check it out is now. The debate around marriage equality has been continuously escalating in recent months, with Airbnb's incomplete rings, Skyy Vodka's Cheers to Equality and Smirnoff's We're Open campaigns also recently launched. According to Galaxy Research polls, 64 percent of Australians support marriage equality, so it's likely more brands will herald their support for the cause.
Shanghai Street has been around since 2010, and is Melbourne's foremost specialist in Shanghai cuisine, especially Shanghai xiaolongbao and juicy dumplings. The restaurant itself is elegant and charming, with attentive and friendly waitstaff which a few similar venues could learn from. The focus here is on food however, and with a regular queue out the front, it's hard to miss. The menu kicks off with a focus on homemade traditional xiaolongbao and fried mini buns, with the highlight being the steamed crab and pork option — vegetarians can tuck into the steamed vegetable version. These are as traditional as you'll find in Melbourne, and they are perfectly soft and succulent. There is a strong focus on dumplings, too, with the option to have them boiled or pan-fried. We'd recommend the chicken and prawn boiled, while the pan-fried beef dumplings are also a big hit. If you like them in a broth then the pork, mushroom and prawn wanton soup is for you. For some heartier meals try the Sichuan spicy chicken with peanut serve and a side of boiled rice, or the marinated duck with light sea salt for something more delicate. One of the house specialties here is the signature crispy chicken, that's deep fried and marinated with salt and pepper. Alternatively, the sweet and sour chicken with pineapple is a fun, flavoursome dish that you won't soon forget. There is also a strong seafood focus here, with the salt and pepper soft shell crab tossed in greens a must, while no order is complete without the stir-fried clams in XO sauce.
As if ringing in the new year isn't exciting enough, January, as always, will also bring with it the dazzling, vibrant carnival that is Sydney Festival. Turning the city into a creative playground for a full three weeks, the Festival brings a (very generous) dose of culture to the sizzling days and balmy nights of Sydney summer. The festival has unveiled its 2018 program — and it's an absolute cracker, packed with hundreds of events ranging from mind-boggling circus to cutting-edge theatre and awe-inspiring musical performances. Whatever art experience you're after, you'll find it in Sydney between January 6–28. While this year doesn't have an installation quite as interactive as Snarkitecture's giant ball pit or the House of Mirrors (which is currently on display in Melbourne), Sydney Town Hall will become a shrine to 50,000 of Japan's unwanted plastic toys with Hiroshi Fuji's large-scale work Jurassic Plastic. It looks like a kid's paradise but there will be adults-only nights too. Four Thousand Fish will be an immersive work where participants will help create ice sculptures of fish and then return them to the harbour to commemorate Barangaroo and the Warrane women. On stage, we ecstatic to hear that Tree of Codes will be coming to Sydney after performances at Melbourne Festival; the visually stunning ballet — which we really, really hoped would come to Australia — combines the talents of choreographer Wayne McGregor, visual artist Olafur Eliasson, musician Jamie xx and the Paris Opera Ballet. On the musical side of things, not only are Opera in the Domain and Symphony Under The Stars back for another year of dreamy music performed under the open night skies, there are also a host of gigs, most notably from NZ's Aldous Harding and Argentinian three-piece Fémina plus a tribute to The Go-Betweens' 16 Lovers Lane album and an otherworldly concert performed entirely underwater called Aquasonic. Five iconic Harry Siedler buildings will also host a series of talks and concerts, blending architecture and music on the program. Theatre buffs, meanwhile, should nab tickets for Barber Shop Chronicles. Offering a juicy peek into the vibrant life of barbershops across the world, this delightful show took British audiences by storm. Burlesque aficionado? Don't miss iconic Aussie boylesque troupe — and Syd Fest regulars — Briefs in all its glamorous, saucy glory in sci-fi spectacle Close Encounters. Don't miss My Name Is Jimi, where, Jimi Bani will call up four generations of his family to take you on an evening of music, dance and comedy at Belvoir. Head over to Parramatta's Circus City to catch the always-impressive Circus Oz in top form with Model Citizens, a satire that lampoons the suburban Aussie dream with impressive physicality and a foot-tapping soundtrack. Also in the environs is Highly Sprung, a soaring performance by Legs on the Wall, which tells the story of inner-city residents through the media of trampolines and other physical art forms. Punters will get a chance to have a go on the trampolines and even take part in an aerial workshop in-between shows — all for gratis. You can also sign up for a flying trapeze workshop for $49. In addition to the many ticketed events, there is also a panoply of free offerings, from art exhibitions and thought-provoking talks to interactive installations. As always the Meriton Festival Village will have heaps to offer between shows — dance to your fave song in a transparent, glitter-filled cube, swim in a shipping container pool, go for a spin on a karaoke carousel or join a 10-minute dance party in a shipping container. Whether you're in it for the inspiration, a shock, or just a whole lot of fun, this year's festival is sure to delight. Sydney, you're in for a summer treat. By Yelena Bidé and Lauren Vadnjal. Image: Jamie Williams.
If you think beer is for men only, think again (and FFS welcome to 2015). But the brewing industry itself, that's pretty damn male-dominated. So you should really meet Pink Boots Society. Founded in 2008 by the award-winning craft brewer Teri Fahrendorf, the Portland based not-for-profit supports women in the beer industry through education. Self-proclaimed as the industry's "female movers and shakers", Pink Boots members aren't only brewers but also writers, hospitality staff, designers, and owners of craft beer bars, bottle shops and restaurants. Fahredndorf has 25 years in the industry under her belt and is committed to empowering women who are just starting out in beer world, with donations, sponsorships, fundraisers and seminars. While many of the chapters are based in the States, its 2472 members span the globe, and it's no surprise that the Australian chapter president, Jayne Lewis, is also the co-founder of Australia's first female owned and operated brewery, Two Birds Brewing. Along with business partner Danielle Allen, the duo are paving the way for Australian women in brewing both with their own brewery and with their involvement in Pink Boots Society Australia. TWO BIRDS WALK INTO A BREWERY Allen and Lewis met 16 years ago in Perth. "Jayne's passion for brewing and her excitement around the beers she wants to brew got me onboard, " says Allen. Lewis is an incredibly innovative brewer, with 12 years in the industry and a flare for making creative, accessible brews. The flagship Golden Ale and the Sunset Ale were both gold medal winners at this year's Craft Beer Awards, with the Sunset Ale also winning the title for Best Beer in the 2015 Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival. While Two Birds continues to rake in awards for their core beers, the 'bird' behind the operation know the importance of giving back. In 2015, they brewed a Red Ale for International Women's Day and the Neneh Cherry Saison for SCBW; this beer won Champion French/Belgian Ale at the Craft Beer Awards, and the profits for both beers were used for the Pink Boots scholarship fund which awards a grant for aspiring women in the industry. In November, Two Birds also kicked off a few Sydney events, including donating a keg of their Taco Ale to Lord Raglan and joining the Broads Who Brew night of Dove and Olive's Craft Beer Fight Club. The proceeds for both will also go directly to the Pink Boots' scholarship fund, with more donation events planned for 2016. THESE PINK BOOTS WERE MADE FOR BREWIN' As Allen describes, Pink Boots "is set up to empower women beer workers and their confidence in the beer industry." Lewis and Allen proudly encourage women in brewing, setting their own brewery as an example for other women in the industry. There are quite a few recognisable names in the Australian chapter, including the women involved with the Rocks Brewing and Wayward Brewing Company. The best part? You don't need to be a member to benefit from these scholarships, which include beer-focused courses and workshops. The final scholarship offered for 2015 is the Oregon State University Craft Brewery Start-up Workshop, for women who are planning to open a brewery. Pink Boots has a bucketload of ways for you to get involved, from volunteer work and networking, to sponsorships and scholarships. Check out their website for more information.
Chapel Street's Mr Miyagi is well-known for its crowd-favourite tacos. Unfortunately in the past, most of the best ones have traditionally been limited-edition, event-only specials. Tacos pop-up at Melbourne's annual Night Noodle Markets, people eat them by the truckload, then they're gone. Not anymore. After selling over half a million nori tacos, Mr Miyagi has decided to launch Takosu Tuesdays, meaning keen diners will be able to order some of Mr Miyagi's classic taco hits every Tuesday night. Kicking off on June 20, expect the famous Peking Duck Taco and Spider Crab Taco on the menu at this Chapel Street favourite. There's also a new Takosu Tuesday Trio, which includes three mini taco versions for $19.50. That includes Peking Duck, Spider Crab and Salmon Nori. Wash them down with Mr Miyagi's special O-toso: a traditional Japanese sake, spiced with cinnamon, clove, star anise, apple and white chocolate. Takosu Tuesdays kick off on June 20 and you'll probably want to book for this one. Mr Miyagi tends to get busy, even mid-week. Images: supplied.
